The ‘Saw’ Franchise Has Grossed $1 Billion Worldwide, Thanks to ‘Spiral’
$1 billion buys a lot of games.
With $15.8 million in domestic ticket sales and another $6.7 million worldwide, Spiral: From the Book of Saw has helped push the Saw franchise to a major box office milestone: The long-running horror franchise has now earned more than $1 billion worldwide. For sake of comparison, the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise has earned about $450 million worldwide; Friday the 13th has earned about $465 million internationally. Final Destination has earned $657 million worldwide, albeit in only five movies.
In a statement, Lionsgate president David Spitz said
We congratulate our friends at Twisted Pictures and all of the filmmakers and stars who have been a part of the Saw legacy. Over the years, our partners have been innovative, creative, and open to new ideas as they have nurtured a micro-budget film into a billion-dollar-plus-grossing cultural phenomenon.
The original Saw, directed by James Wan and co-written by Wan and Leigh Whannell, cost a reported $1.2 million and went on to earn $103 million worldwide. For much of the 2000s, Saw was a Halloween tradition; with a new installment every single October. The first run of the franchise wound down with 2010’s Saw 3D, then resumed with 2017’s Jigsaw. The new film Spiral, starring Chris Rock, reimagines the horror franchise as a dark cop thriller. It resumes the grisly story years later with Rock as an honest police officer whose corrupt peers are being slaughtered by a new Jigsaw copycat.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw is now playing in theaters.