There was no surprise this weekend as Saw IV won the box office battle just before All Hallows Eve. The, as you may have guessed, fourth in the horror series took an estimated $32.1million, only just behind Saw III's $33.6million. With those kinds of numbers, we haven't seen the last of this particular franchise.
Steve Carrell's new movie, Dan In Real Life, had a decent opening at number two with $12.1million. The film marked a more dramatic move for Carell, who plays a single father who falls for his brother's girlfriend, and its success is impressive for a comedy on a weekend when most viewers are looking for something to give their bejesus a good scaring.
Despite the performance of the top two, this was another disappointing weekend overall, with numbers down on the comparable time last year for the sixth week in a row. There were few new openings, but even a potentially strong holdover like 30 Days of Night, which would seem to be a good bet for Halloween, couldn't hold on to its audience, dropping 58% on last week to just $6.7million.
Next week should pick up with both American Gangster and Bee Movie capable of big numbers.