No big surprise here. Horror franchise juggernaut in the making SAW II kicked much bootie this weekend and opened at numero uno. The 30.5 million bow of the sequel nearly doubled the opening figures from the original which took in 18.3 mil on the way to a 55.2 million domestic run.
It also slayed THE LEGEND OF ZORRO, another blade focused feature sequel over the holiday weekend. Want a little insight into why? Read on:
“A lot of talk is devoted to the theatrical moviegoing experience being like a warmup for the DVD release. In this case, the DVD release of [SAW] was a warmup for the huge debut of the sequel,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. “Plus, it’s a no-brainer. It’s Halloween weekend.”
No-brainer indeed. Congrats to all the good folks behind this sweet ass sequel. Some wondered early on if they could pull off such a quick turn around after the first and deliver a quality flick. Clearly the answer is a resounding yes!