Nov 1, 2008–Audiences spent out out $3.1 million for Lionsgate¬ís “Saw V,” giving the horror installment the top spot at the Friday box office.
Despite its no. 1 slot yesterday, “Saw V” as well as last weekend¬ís champion Disney¬ís ¬ìHigh School Musical 3: Senior Year¬î saw their second Friday hauls hacked by 79% and 90% respectively. ¬ìHSM3¬î charted in fifth, grossing $1.67 million off 3,626 sites for an eight day cume of $48.4 million million. Playing at 3,084, ¬ìSaw V¬ís¬î domestic total moved to $38.8 million.
Universal upped the theater count for Clint Eastwood’s 1920s drama “Changeling” from 15 to 1,850 in its second Friday, catapulting the picture to second place with $2.3 million. Warner executed a similar second weekend wide expansion with Eastwood’s “Mystic River” in early October 2003. After “Mystic River” posted a first day opening of $185,602 from 13 theaters, picture’s second Friday went on to gross $3.3 million at 1,467. Current Box-Office for “Changeling” stands at $3 million.
Kevin Smith’s R-rated raunchy comedy “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” distributed by the Weinstein Co. took third with $2.2 million from 2,735 while Freestyle Releasing’s Haley Bennett and Chace Crawford high school thriller “The Haunting of Molly Hartley” was fourth with $1.7 million at 2,652.
Similar to 2003 when Halloween fell on a Friday, business at the multiplex is expected to rebound today.
