The Saw franchise crossed a huge benchmark, surpassing $1 billion at the box office this past weekend with Spiral. The long-running horror series began in 2004 with the original James Wan directed film that saw two men trapped in a twisty and gruesome game. Since then, the series has produced numerous sequels that upped the ante on what the original film did so well. Even though the films are less than beloved by critics, audiences have stuck around for each entry, propelling the series to a total of seven films in as many years before the franchise took a seven year break.
More recently, sequel Jigsaw was released in 2017, taking place ten years after the death of the eponymous killer. Many assumed that, along with Jigsaw, the franchise was dead, but Lionsgate, the studio behind the films, felt differently. Spiral follows a hardened detective, played by Chris Rock, who must confront his city's dark past when a copycat killer mirroring Jigsaw's original games appears.
The reappearance of Jigsaw seems to have sparked some nostalgia in fans, as Lionsgate reports (via ComingSoon) that the franchise has crossed the $1 billion mark at the box office. The estimated total for the franchise is $1,000,799,533, with the film being pushed over that mark by Spiral's take at the box office this weekend, which totaled out to around $4.5 million in North America. Internationally, Spiral grossed an additional $2.67 million with more set to come as the film rolls out in the United Kingdom and other international territories.
As the summer movie season kicks into high gear, all eyes will be on the box office. Spiral was just the beginning for horror this year, with both The Conjuring 3 and A Quiet Place Part II set to debut in theaters in the coming weeks. Wan, who also serves as producer on The Conjuring franchise, now has another billion dollar franchise under his belt. The Conjuring films and their spinoffs surpassed the $1 billion mark already and are on their way to hitting $2 billion thanks to the upcoming sequel.
Still, this latest news is good for fans of Saw. Lionsgate has made it clear that they have a future in mind for the franchise, with a potential Saw 10 in the works in addition to a television series. Despite the fact that the box office isn't what it once was, Spiral's promising haul is a good sign that Lionsgate will be able to continue the franchise. It also portends good things for the coming months as studios prepare to return to theaters in a big way, with horror sequels and blockbuster films slated to hit screens.
Source: Lionsgate (via ComingSoon)