Chapter 130: Incorrect Prediction

As Carey Mulligan said, every day "Saw" continued to be shown in theaters, it would set a new box office record for Murphy in North America. However, how high this so-called record would ultimately climb depended on the film's performance this week.

Murphy maintained close contact with Fox Searchlight, constantly monitoring the latest box office updates for "Saw."

After a full Monday, the daily box office surged from $1.5 million to $1.99 million.

This figure further solidified Fox Searchlight's confidence, convincing them that the film would exceed expectations. They increased their promotional efforts, negotiated for more screens with theaters, and initiated another round of print production to distribute more copies to the market.

At this point, Fox Searchlight no longer cared about the high upfront costs for print production.

CinemaScore and Ed Mintz's predictions also influenced Fox Searchlight. Numerous past cases had proven their reliability.

While larger-scale screenings were still being prepared, "Saw" continued to be shown in 650 theaters with 1,030 screens across North America.

Tuesday is traditionally a discount day for theaters in North America, with cheaper ticket prices attracting many viewers. This often makes Tuesday the best-performing weekday for many films.

Despite not being a traditional release period for horror films, the word-of-mouth for "Saw" had been spreading for days. Fox Searchlight's continuous, albeit small-scale, promotional efforts also helped more horror fans discover the film.

Even on a weekday, "Saw" saw a significant increase in box office on Tuesday, reaching $2.32 million.

The cumulative North American box office for "Saw" was now approaching the $5 million mark.

The film's previously suppressed potential due to limited theater availability was finally being unleashed step by step.

Wednesday: $1.83 million; Thursday: $1.79 million...

In these four weekdays, "Saw" grossed $7.93 million!

For summer blockbusters, this number might not be much, but for "Saw," which was only showing in 650 theaters with 1,030 screens, it was significant!

Clearly, this film had garnered widespread approval from horror fans.

On IMDb, the "Saw" page, which previously had only a handful of ratings, saw a surge to nearly 10,000 users in just one week. While the overall score might decrease with more ratings, the film still held an impressive 8.1 rating!

In the realm of gory horror films, this was a stellar score.

"From the first minute to the last, this film keeps you on edge, confounding and torturing you until your nerves are frayed and you're left speechless. But it's hard to dislike the director's methods—instead, you'll be fascinated. This young director, Murphy Stanton, seems to have the ability to twist reality, making viewers feel sympathy and admiration for Jigsaw amidst the bloody carnage."

Many fans gave it a perfect score and left a series of positive reviews.

"'Saw' boasts excellent script and editing, not looking like a first-time director's work. Murphy Stanton is an unfamiliar name, but what a pleasant surprise he brings!"

"It's films like 'Saw' that make us love horror movies. Let me tell you, after watching it, I wanted to buy another ticket to see it again! It's been a long time since I saw a truly gripping story. This film is very thrilling with plenty of goosebumps moments. If you're faint-hearted, don't watch this film. Its bloody violence and horror scenes will make you jump out of your seat. Now I can't wait for the DVD or VHS release—I really want to buy it."

"In my opinion, this film is exciting, thrilling, and thoroughly entertaining! It's a masterpiece by the new director Murphy Stanton. I must give 'Saw' and Murphy Stanton two thumbs up!"

Although there were some reviews calling it a "perverted and disgusting movie," the overwhelming majority were positive, with comments like "the best horror film in years," "the smartest horror film," and "a unique film that creates terrifying memories."

Good word-of-mouth is the best support for a film's box office performance.

Even though horror films aren't a major category in Hollywood, "Saw" was not a niche film like "Hard Candy." With favorable data from various sources, Fox Searchlight easily secured more theater screens for the film.

Starting this week, Fox Searchlight fully ramped up print production. By Thursday night, 1,500 newly produced "Saw" prints had been delivered to additional theaters.

Meanwhile, the film's promotional budget continued to rise. After Thursday's box office estimates were released, Fox Searchlight increased the budget to $3 million, with more to be added as needed.

Everything was in place for the new weekend.

Despite the release of "Jurassic Park III," Fox Searchlight had high hopes for this weekend, given the different target audiences.

Due to the film's genre and the presence of "Jurassic Park III," "Saw" wouldn't reach the massive scale of 3,000+ theaters typical of mainstream commercial films.

Thanks to Fox Searchlight's efforts and the favorable data from a week of screenings, "Saw" would expand to 2,000 theaters and 2,530 screens this weekend.

Undoubtedly, in terms of genre, audience, investment, and promotion, "Saw" couldn't compete with "Jurassic Park III."

The latter was showing in over 3,400 theaters!

Starting Friday, "Jurassic Park III" showed its market dominance, grossing over $16 million on its opening day in North America. However, the film was critically panned, receiving the lowest ratings in the series.

But the series had established its brand. Most viewers, especially mainstream family audiences, would choose "Jurassic Park III" over "Saw" this weekend.

Families bringing children to see a horror film were rare worldwide.

Often, a film's genre determines its audience. "Saw" wasn't a widely accessible PG or PG-13 film but a gore-filled R-rated movie.

"Jurassic Park III" boosted this weekend's film market, and other films could only look up in awe.

This didn't mean other films had no room to thrive.

With the wider release, "Saw" couldn't maintain its previous occupancy rates—this was a market inevitability. However, the film didn't experience a catastrophic drop in occupancy. Each theater maintained relatively stable attendance.

On the same Friday, "Saw" grossed $6.25 million from 2,000 theaters, its best single-day performance since release.

Most importantly, the film maintained strong word-of-mouth, with some viewers returning for a second watch.

Early Saturday morning, Daisy in Los Angeles and a group of friends went to see "Saw" again.

In New York at noon, the Columbia University professor, despite the risk of fainting again, invited friends to watch "Saw."

Later, a horror fan group from Long Island, led by Luis Gonzalez, entered the theater for the second time to watch this rare high-quality horror film.

Like most well-received films, "Saw" saw a slight increase in box office on Saturday compared to Friday, grossing $6.32 million. However, the day's box office crown still belonged to "Jurassic Park III," whose brand power ensured decent box office numbers despite poor reviews.

That's the biggest advantage of a film series.

"Saw" also had franchise potential, which was evident to anyone paying attention, including Fox Searchlight executives.

The film had already grossed $14 million in North America, far exceeding expectations, and screenings continued, ensuring further growth.

Godin Clyde sat in his office, having just looked up from the latest "Saw" data. The film's strong word-of-mouth and impressive performance after the expanded release led him to a clear conclusion: CinemaScore and Ed Mintz's predictions were wrong!

This film's North American box office wouldn't be around $30 million—it would be higher, not lower!

If this weekend's performance was strong and the drop next week wasn't significant, surpassing $40 million was possible.

Such results would secure his current position, alleviating previous anxieties. However, amidst his joy, Godin Clyde felt a tinge of regret. He had only secured 30% of the rights in negotiations, meaning only 30% of the peripheral revenue and less benefit if sequels were made, which would mainly benefit Stanton Studio.

As for sequels, Godin Clyde saw them as inevitable. The film left many questions, like the fate of the sawed-off leg doctor and Jigsaw's backstory. He didn't believe Murphy Stanton, who argued over every dollar, would easily give up on making sequels.

What a pity!

Godin Clyde sighed deeply, as if trying to expel all his disappointment. He considered himself highly optimistic about "Saw," but he had still underestimated the film and its director!

He shook his head and got back to work, eager to see what miracles "Saw" would bring this weekend.

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT