‘Jigsaw’ helps Hollywood with its box-office puzzle
LOS ANGELES: Hollywood may be suffering through a spiritless patch but Halloween films can still lend a needed jolt, as Lionsgate’s new ‘Jigsaw’ horror film and a clutch of other scary films showed by boosting an otherwise flimsy weekend box office.
‘Jigsaw’, the eighth chapter in Lionsgate’s ‘Saw’ horror franchise, took in an estimated US$16.3 million over the threeday weekend, according to industry website Exhibitor Relations. It beat out the same studio’s ‘Boo 2! A Madea Halloween’, with US$10 million.
But after that, no film in the top 10 made as much as US$6 million, with audiences distracted by baseball’s World Series and the hugely popular Netflix series ‘Stranger Things’. Even ‘Jigsaw’ fell some US$4 million below expectations in its opening weekend, Variety.com reported.
That movie, the first ‘Saw’ sequel in seven years, has police investigating a string of horrific murders committed in the style of the supposedly longdead killer Jigsaw. Made for just US$10 million, the film is already in the black.
‘Boo 2 strikes a somewhat lighter tone. The comedy horror sequel has Tyler Perry (who also wrote, directed and produced it) and his gang heading to a haunted campground, where -no surprise -- monsters lurk.
‘Geostorm’, a new release from Warner Bros., took third place, earning US$5.7 million. The sci-fi disaster thriller follows Gerard Butler as a satellite designer tasked with saving the world from an apocalyptic storm caused by climate-controlling satellites run amok.
‘Happy Death Day’, another comedy horror flick, took in US$5.1 million. The Universal film stars Jessica Rothe as a college student who repeatedly relives the day she was murdered until she discovers who killed her.
In fifth place was sci-fi reboot ‘Blade Runner: US$4 million.
The film features Ryan Gosling as a Los Angeles Police Department “blade runner” charged with killing bioengineered androids who are becoming too much like humans. He goes on a search for Harrison Ford’s character -- the original blade runner -- who had disappeared years earlier.
With ticket sales in October some 5 per cent below the same month last year, Hollywood is 2049’, taking eagerly awaiting next week’s domestic premiere of Marvel and Disney’s ‘Thor: Ragnarok’. It took in an impressive US$108 million in its international opening. Rounding out the top 10 were: ‘Thank You for Your Service’ (US$3.7 million)
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