‘Jigsaw’ Carves Up The Multiplex, ‘Suburbicon’ Tanks [Box Office]

The weekend before Halloween means audiences want to be scared, and Lionsgate‘s second crack at the “Saw” franchise topped the box office, though it seemed to be for lack of better options.

Arriving seven years after the franchise finale “Saw 3D,” “Jigsaw” engineered $16.2 million. For a movie that only cost $10 million, that’s good news, but in terms of the brand, the results are disappointing, as the opening is the second lowest in series history (the film edged out “Saw VI“). Given the usual steep drop-off horror movies have, “Jigsaw” will likely be quickly hustled out of cinemas. With these numbers, it’s unlikely Lionsgate is going to seriously consider another big screen outing, but with everything going to television these days, it’s possible they’ll find yet another way to retool their horror property. Nothing stays dead in Hollywood.

READ MORE: ‘Suburbicon’ Finds George Clooney Doing Coen Brothers Karaoke [Venice Review]

Prestige projects didn’t fare too well this weekend. The war drama “Thank You For Your Service” starring Miles Teller stumbled toward a very weak $3.7 million on over two thousand screens. The curious thing is reviews were largely good for the movie, but perhaps the current political climate wasn’t the best fit for the cinematic equivalent of eating your vegetables. Following last week’s “Only The Brave,” it’s two straight movies for Miles Teller that have done middling numbers, so it may be back to supporting roles for a while, at least in studio movies, because as a leading man, moviegoers don’t seem too interested.

The combined star power of George Clooney directing Matt Damon and Julianne Moore did nothing for “Suburbicon” which tanked, earning $2.8 million in wide release. Reviews were dreadful, which also carried the Coen Brothers brand, as co-writers of the script, and the audiences that did buy a ticket hated the movie. “Surburbicon” earned an atrocious D- CinemaScore. For Damon, who runs very hot and cold at the box office, it’s his worst opening since “All The Pretty Horses,” which debuted in 500 fewer cinemas. There’s a sense that after seeing the response from the fall festivals, Paramount largely cut their losses, and what was once thought of as a potential Oscar contender, was left to sink or swim on its own.

Overseas, “Thor: Ragnarok” got off to a very healthy start, pulling in $106.7 million. Meanwhile, any hope that Warner Bros. had for “Blade Runner 2049” pulling in some extra cash abroad went south, with the movie flopping in China, where it pulled in a paltry $7.6 million.

At the arthouse, Ruben Ostlund‘s “The Square” led the charge, pulling $76,000 from two cinemas, for the best per-screen-average of the weekend. The Blake Lively starring “All I See Is You” did dismal numbers, pulling $135,504 from 283 screens for a woeful PSA of $479. However, the weekend’s worst belongs to The Weinstein Company/Dimension Films which dumped the long delayed “Amityville: The Awakening” on ten screens where it earned $742 for a PSA of $74.

1. “Jigsaw” — $16.2 million
2. “Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween” — $10 million ($35.5 mil.)
3. “Geostorm” — $5.6 million ($23.5 mil.)
4. “Happy Death Day” — $5 million ($48.3 mil.)
5. “Blade Runner 2049” — $3.9 million ($81.3 mil.)
6. “Thank You For Your Service” — $3.7 million
7. “Only The Brave” — $3.4 million ($11.9 mil.)
8. “The Foreigner” — $3.2 milloin ($28.8 mil.)
9. “Suburbicon” — $2.8 million
10. “It” — $2.4 million ($323.7 mil.)