It’s not going to match the franchise-best opening of “Saw III” ($33.6 million opening/$163.8 million worldwide finish) but it should be in the same ballpark as “Jigsaw” ($16.6 million opening/$104.2 million worldwide finish), and that’s enough to make it a hit. There’s also a very good chance that generational nostalgia kicks in here. By bringing back Bell and putting him front-and-center once again, this movie could bring out horror fans en masse in a best-case scenario.
Yes, that’s largely speculative but this is, after all, a nearly 20-year-old franchise at this point. For the sake of comparison, the same amount of time has passed between the release of the first “Saw” and “Saw X” as it had between the first “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Freddy vs. Jason.” There is an entire generation of horror fans who grew up with these movies. “Spiral” was still contending with the pandemic and didn’t have John Kramer in it. This movie doesn’t have those problems. All of this to say, if I were a betting man, I would bet on the higher end of current projections — if not above them — rather than the low end.
Directed by series veteran Kevin Greutert, “Saw X” is set between the events of the first two “Saw” movies. It focuses on a sick and desperate John Kramer as he travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer. He soon discovers that the entire operation is a scam. This gives John a newfound purpose and he returns to his work, turning the tables on the con artists by putting them through a series of his twisted games.
“Saw X” is set to hit theaters on September 29, 2023.
