1. "Michael Jackson's This Is It" ($21.3 million)
2. "Paranormal Activity" ($16.5 million)
3. "Law Abiding Citizen" ($7.3 million)
3. "Couples Retreat" ($6.1 million)
5. "Saw VI" ($5.6 million)
Would-be moviegoers opted for a weekend filled with trick-or-treating, costume partying and other similar shenanigans in celebration of Saturday night's Halloween, with a select few heading into movie theaters as a way to embrace the holiday. But it wasn't the ghost and slasher-heavy horror flicks that won the weekend — instead, "Michael Jackson's This Is It" commanded the box office with a $21.3 million first place finish. Read more...
All this week, we've been showcasing celebrity-picked lists of their favorite Halloween-time scare flicks. You already got the scoops from "Paranormal Activity" director Oren Peli and "World War Z" author Max Brooks.
Today we've got none other than Jigsaw, Tobin Bell, speaking at the press junket for "Saw VI." He actually flipped the script a little bit, giving us a list of his favorite villains. And they're not what you'd expect. I'm not even going to write it up; the video speaks for itself. Check it out below.
1. "Paranormal Activity" ($22 million)
2. "Saw VI" ($14.8 million)
3. "Where The Wild Things Are" ($14.4 million)
4. "Law Abiding Citizen" ($12.7 million)
5. "Couples Retreat" ($11.1 million)
Aside from the Ghostbusters themselves, it's hard to imagine a force powerful enough to topple "Paranormal Activity," the independently financed and created horror film from director Oren Peli. Now with its largest theater count to date at 1,945, "Paranormal" has finally ascended to the top spot at the box office with a $22 million weekend finish. Read more...
1. "Paranormal Activity" ($7.6 million)
2. "Saw VI" ($7 million)
3. "Where The Wild Things Are" ($4.4 million)
4. "Law Abiding Citizen" ($4.1 million)
5. "Couples Retreat" ($3.7 million)
T'was the weekend before Halloween and all through Hollywood, not a feature was stirring — except for "Paranormal Activity," the slow-boiling low-budget horror flick that has shocked-and-awed both moviegoers and box office watch dogs. For the first time since its September release, "Paranormal" debuted in the number one spot with a $7.6 million intake on Friday, heralding a potential $21 million weekend according to Deadline Hollywood Daily's best projections. Read more...
Rube Goldberg machines are awesome. There's nothing quite like watching an absurd, elaborate series of actions and reactions. It's tricky stuff, making sure disparate mechanical parts that weren't designed specifically to work together operate in concert. Can you imagine what it's like setting up one that could hurt you? Hell, what about one that's intentionally designed to kill somebody, like the ones deranged killer Jigsaw sets up in the "Saw" movies?
Imagine the hours upon hours it takes to set up those elaborate deathtraps. How many tetanus shots he must need after sticking himself with rusty power tools. How many vaccinations he must require from handling all those used syringes. Hell, how many times the poor bastard has stubbed his toe after dropping that damn puppet. He's bound to have set up some traps that plain don't work, schemes that looked great on paper but just didn't prove up to the challenge of potentially killing an FBI agent. So let's take a moment to reflect on what are undoubtedly Jigsaw's greatest failures, those wily death traps that just didn't cut the mustard. Read more...
Six years! Six movies! Can you believe it? It seems like it was just yesterday we were all hearing about this twisted short film by some whippersnappers named James Wan and Leigh Whannell, but today their baby "Saw" is the flagship franchise for the entire horror film industry. Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), the series' constant villain, has joined the pantheon of scary movie greats like Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers. It's even recognized as the series that brought the horror subgenre of "torture porn" to the masses. Yes, it's a different world we live in.
Indeed it's hard to imagine a world without "Saw". And why should we expect there to ever be such a thing? The "Saw VI" writing team of Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton are already signed on to work through "Saw VIII." Seeing as how people are still turning out in droves to see Jigsaw's latest deathtraps every autumn, we can safely assume that "Saw" will be around to celebrate its tin anniversary on the big screen in 2014. Read more...
Today's eBay Prop-Watch pick is kind of a gimme. "Saw VI" is out on Friday. So what better item to feature than a prop from "Saw V"? Not that I can really speak from a position of experience; those "Saw" movies are far too gory for my fragile sensibilities to endure. I've got to give it up for the franchise though; all five previously released films in the series have grossed five times or more than their budget.
So today's Prop-Watch pick is from "Saw V." It might come as a surprise to learn that it isn't a piece of a Jigsaw puzzle/death trap. Nor is it a Jigsaw doll, an item which appears to be fairly popular on eBay. No... today's item is something completely different. And wholly terrifying. If I caught a glimpse of this on the street late at night, I would quickly run in the opposite direction. Screaming would be a distinct possibility. Hit the jump for a look at what might inspire such madness. Read more...
It's a strange week for new releases, primarily because the latest, sixth entry in the "Saw" franchise is hitting theaters a full week before Halloween. Traditionally, each new "Saw" hits on the Friday before the year's trick or treaters emerge. Following a trend set with last year's "Saw V," the new entry will have a week to breathe before the Halloween festivities begin. Expect lots more Jigsaw puzzling and gore-nography in "Saw VI," which joins newcomer director Kevin Greutert with writers Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, who penned "Saw IV" onwards.
Also somewhat in the horror vein -- though more in the "hey, vampires are popular vein" -- this week is "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant," which I caught a few weeks ago and am sort of regarding as a male-oriented attempt to latch onto the "Twilight" phenomenon. I wasn't a huge fan of the movie, but it is adapted from the first book in a 12 volume series... so I guess we'll just have to see. Read more...
"Saw VI" isn't out until next week, but that doesn't mean fans can't start looking ahead, towards the future of the franchise. For all of the mixed critical response each successive "Saw" release tends to foster, it's the box office that tells the real story. People come out to see these movies, and in large numbers. We're five movies in -- soon to be six -- and each one has grossed more than $50 million apiece. Considering that the combined budgets of the first five movies don't amount to $50 million, that's not too shabby.
It's no surprise then that plans for additional entries in the series are already in motion. I imagine that the folks at Twisted Pictures are kicking themselves for not delivering a 3-D version of "Saw VI," but it's a mistake they'll be correcting in the years to come. IGN recently had the opportunity to chat with some of the key franchise players -- producer Mark Burg and writers Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton -- and they were more than happy to talk a bit about next steps for the series. Read more...
While I can appreciate the noble intent of a "Saw VI"-branded blood drive, I have to wonder who in their right mind would show up for such an event. I mean seriously... do you really think you're going to just go there, give some blood and call it a day? I don't think so. That needle they stick into you will undoubtedly be filled with a fast-acting poison. To save yourself you'll have to imbibe the antidote, which is of course surgically implanted into the skull of the nurse who "took your blood," a fact which you'll learn thanks to a conveniently placed voice recorder.
You see where I'm going with this, right? Giving your blood is a positive thing, but I can't help but suspect this is all part of Jigsaw's -- he's not dead, of course -- master plan. Especially after seeing the freaky-ass nurse in this pair of new posters. Yes, I know that blood drives are nothing new for the "Saw" franchise. That still doesn't mean I trust those sick lunatics.
In all seriousness, this is a great thing that Lionsgate and the folks behind "Saw" do and its been a successful effort for them so far. It's telling enough that this is the 6th annual "Saw"-branded blood drive. The actual numbers are even more impressive though: 119,452 pints of plasma have been collected, resulting in 358,354 lives saved. Jigsaw's body count seems like penny ante stuff by comparison. Hit the jump for the posters. Read more...
