‘Saw 3D’ takes top slice at weekend box office

Psychokiller Jigsaw has come back to life at the box office.

Lionsgate’s “Saw 3D,” billed as the final installment in the series about Jigsaw’s legacy of bloody terror, debuted as the Halloween weekend’s No. 1 movie with $24.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

That was $10 million more than the debut of last year’s “Saw VI,” the first dud in the annual horror franchise.

“Last year, a lot of people said, ‘OK, that’s it. Put a fork in it, it’s done,”‘ said David Spitz, head of distribution for Lionsgate. “The following week, we were all disappointed and thought, what can we do to reinvigorate the franchise? So we shot the movie in 3-D and said this is the final chapter.”

It paid off, though “Saw 3D” still brought a modest return compared to earlier chapters in the “Saw” series, whose second, third, fourth and fifth movies all topped $30 million over opening weekend.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood .com. Final figures will be released Monday.

  1. “Saw 3D,” $24.2 million.

  2. “Paranormal Activity 2,” $16.5 million.

  3. “Red,” $10.8 million.

  4. “Jackass 3D,” $8.4 million.

  5. “Hereafter,” $6.3 million.

  6. “Secretariat,” $5.1 million.

  7. “The Social Network,” $4.7 million.

  8. “Life as We Know It,” $4 million.

  9. “The Town,” $2 million.

  10. “Conviction,” $1.8 million.