They see me rollin’. They hatin’….
Yesterday it was announced that an 8th Saw movie has gone into development. This comes to no ones surprise as this past October did not perform as expected (aside from Gravity which made all of the money). While 2013 as a whole hasn’t been lacking in horror and The Conjuring was a blockbuster for the genre, October usually has more than just one major horror movie. This years? The Carrie remake! Who ever made this decision should be fired. Not to remake Carrie but to not have any other horror movies open during the month. I think it was assumed that there would have been a 5th Paranormal Acitivty movie this year but, in a welcomed turn, they decided to skip this year – reassess the franchise’s game plan and, as a result, we’re getting one next year (which, I for one, and very excited for) and the latino-centered spin-off Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, which looks like a hot mess so see you there.
Was the franchise starting to show it’s age? Sort of. Saw 6 grossed a franchise worst with only $27 million. To compare, Saw 2 & 3 both opened to $30 million. With that said, the last entry in the franchise, Saw 3D earned a decent $45 million domestically but a stunning $136 million worldwide. Remaining incredibly cheap to produce and I’m sure the last one was profitable, the franchise had lost it’s “event” status. Mostly due to the Paranormal movies taking over that title, but also because the gore subgenre wasn’t as trendy as this franchise had originally made it. But, as we know, that doesn’t mean Jigsaw is down and out.
The audience is still there. Lionsgate knows this. And look, if they plan this out properly, with a legitimate director, maybe some bigger names than the franchise is used to, this could do well enough and revitalize this franchise. Though I’m not a fan, I’m oddly excited.
Tagged: Carrie, Conjuring, Franchising, Horror film, Jigsaw, paranormal activity, saw, saw 3d
