Saw X Is Doing The Unbelievable At The Box Office

By Douglas Helm | Published

saw x
Saw X (2023)

Since the Barbenheimer phenomenon swept the nation back in July, the theaters have had a bit of a lull at the box office. However, the upcoming weekend might revitalize some interest as there are three wide releases coming to screens that will all likely appeal to different audiences – the sci-fi The Creator, the animated kid’s flick PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, and the latest entry to the long-running Saw horror franchise. Surprisingly, Saw X came out on top in the Wednesday night premium screenings and Thursday night shows with a $2 million haul compared to The Creator’s $1.6 million (via Deadline).

Saw X is so far surprising everyone by opening in the box office ahead of The Creator and PAW Patrol.

This is a bit surprising because The Creator and PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie are the movies that are predicted to come out on top. Of course, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie could easily take the spot since it skipped the Wednesday screenings with the kid audience who would see it being in school anyway.

Still, the performance of Saw X is intriguing, and it also had a fairly big turnout among Latino and Hispanic moviegoers at 41 percent.

Surprisingly, Saw X is actually getting better reviews from critics, which may play a part in it winning out against The Creator this weekend.

All three films are targeting a $45 million opening weekend, and it wouldn’t be too surprising if they all hit the mark at this point. The question remains: who will come out on top? With PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie appealing to such a wide range of kids, it is hard to see the R-rated Saw X besting the film.

saw x
Saw X (2023)

The more interesting question is who will win out between Saw X and The Creator. There is (obviously) much more crossover between the target audiences, so it’ll be interesting to see if people want to take a chance on new original sci-fi IP or an old, reliable horror franchise that has grossed more than $1 billion worldwide to date.

Saw X follows John Kramer as he uses his penchant for traps to turn the tables on medical scam artists…

Surprisingly, Saw X is actually getting better reviews from critics, which may play a part in it winning out against The Creator this weekend. However, The Creator is available on premium screens like premium ticket sales in Imax, ScreenX, and 4D, which can easily drive up sales.

Saw X also has the past working against it a bit, as the previous film in the franchise, 2021’s Spiral, was a massive commercial and critical flop. However, this film seems to be more of a return to form, and the fact that the title of the movie is a mainline numbered entry might get more people to see it. Previous entries Spiral and Jigsaw may not have immediately clicked as films in the Saw franchise if people missed out on the marketing efforts.

In any case, theatergoers will certainly have a lot of options this weekend when it comes to movies. Saw X follows John Kramer as he uses his penchant for traps to turn the tables on medical scam artists, while The Creator follows an agent (John David Washington) attempting to track down a mysterious AI creator to end the war between humans and AI. You can check them both out, along with the PAW Patrol movie, this weekend.