By Kofi Outlaw

SAW IV hacked away the competition this week, easily taking top spot at the box office. The fourth offering in the SAW-saga grossed approx $32.1 million from 3,183 locations, less than its predecessor’s $33.6 million debut last year, but better than SAW II’s $31.7 million debut in 2005.

“‘SAW’ fans have proven their loyalty to the franchise once again…” Lionsgate prexy of distribution Steve Rothenberg said.

SAW IV marked the highest first-week gross for the fall 2007 season, outpacing THE GAME PLAN, which debuted with a gross of $22.9 million. The impressive debut of SAW IV should push worldwide box office revenue for the SAW franchise just across the $500 million mark. Exit polls showed that 90% of the people of the SAW IV audience had seen the other chapters in the series, and, even more surprising, the genders turned out in even numbers; 52% of the viewing audience were women (!?) and 48% were male.

The success of SAW IV proved for a second week in a row (after 30 DAYS OF NIGHT’S solid debut last week) that the horror genre still has life in it yet to snuff out—certainly life to slowly bleed across multiple installments, a la the slasher films of the 1980’s like FRIDAY THE 13th, or A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Without spoiling SAW IV’s signature “twists,” suffice to say that the careful watcher will recognize that the film is actually an extended trailer for SAW V, VI, VII and however many more installments studios Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures can crank out before the films stop being a Halloween tradition and audiences move on to get their flesh-fix elsewhere.

Overall the box office was still down this week, though only 1% from this time last year when SAW III opened. DAN IN REAL LIFE, the Disney dramedy starring Steve Carell, landed at the No. 2 spot, grossing $12 million. The other Halloween horror offering, Sony Pictures’ 30 DAYS OF NIGHT had 58% of its audience cut away by SAW, coming in at No. 3 with a $6.7 million gross, for a cumulative total of $27.3 million.