Saw 3D rose to top of Halloween box office

Poster of Saw 3D.

As a perfect match for the horror-themed Halloween, the latest installment of the Saw franchise has conquered droves of moviegoers in North America, and is expected to gross a moderate receipts over the weekend, the North America box office authority said on Sunday.

The seventh and final installment of the Saw series, and the first and only film in the series to be shot in 3D, Saw 3D is estimated to take in 24.2 million dollars as it opened on more than 3,500 screens at 2,808 movie theaters. The Liongate release's total movie ticket receipts were bolstered by expensive 3D admission prices, as three quarters of its screens presented the picture in the 3D illusion which accounted for 92 percent of business.

Originally scheduled to open Oct. 22, Saw 3D was postponed to hit the screen until Thursday after Paranormal Activity 2 muscled in on that date. Distributor Liongate has underscored that it is the final installment of the popular horror film franchise so as to win over more moviegoers from opposing camps.

Now in second week of screening, Paranormal Activity 2 suffered a 59 percent drop from last weekend, slipped to second place with an estimated 24.2 million dollars in ticket stub sales. That sequel, from Paramount, is on track for a running total of 65.7 million dollars in gross receipts in 10 days.

"Red" from Summit was estimated to be in third place this weekend, with a projected take of 10.8 million dollars and a running 17 days total of 58.9 million dollars.

Aftershock, a Chinese blockbuster depicting the catastrophic earthquake in China in 1976, was released on Friday in 24 AMC Theatres across the U.S. and Canada in regions with significant Chinese population including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Boston, Seattle, Toronto and Ottawa.

As the first Chinese movie shot in IMAX, Aftershock has grossed 100 million dollars in

China, making it the biggest local film in Chinese box office history.

China recently announced that the film will be its official selection for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2010 Oscars.

Rounding out the 10 most-popular movies in the United States and Canada this weekend, based on studio estimates and compiled by Hollywood.com, are:

-- No.4: Jackass 3D, Paramount, 8.4 million dollars this weekend, 101.6 million dollars over three weeks;

-- No.5: Hereafter, Paramount, 6.3 million dollars this weekend, 22.2 million dollars over three weeks;

-- No.6: Secretariat, Disney, 5 million dollars this weekend, 44.8 million dollars over eight weeks;

-- No.7: The Social Network, Sony, 4.7 million dollars this weekend, 79.7 million dollars over five weeks;

-- No.8: Life As We Know It, Warner Bros., 4 million dollars this weekend, 43.5 million dollars over five weeks;

-- No.9: The Town, 2 million dollars this weekend, 87.6 million dollars over seven weeks; and

-- No.10: Conviction, Fox Searchlight, 1.8 million dollars this weekend, 2.4 million dollars over four weeks.

Source: China.org.cn - China news