John Kramer Kills Again! (At The Box Office As Saw X Crosses $100 Million)
Nearly 20 years in, John Kramer continues to kill it at the box office. "Saw X," the latest installment in Lionsgate's long-running horror franchise, has officially crossed the $100 million mark globally thanks to Wednesday's grosses. Not that the movie wasn't already a hit before, but it now gets to count itself alongside seven other "Saw" movies that have grossed at least that much money worldwide, making such an impressive benchmark more of a rule than an exception.
"Saw X" curently sits at $52.7 million domestically and $47.9 million internationally for a grand total of $100.6 million worldwide to date, per Box Office Mojo. Director Kevin Greutert's film has already been available on VOD for some time, so the milestone was crossed somewhat quietly. But the fact that enough people continued to see the film throughout the Halloween season and beyond — despite the fact they could have just as easily watched it at home — speaks volumes about this franchise's place within the broader horror canon. At this point, Tobin Bell's Jigsaw must be mentioned right up there with the likes of Freddy Kreuger and Jason Voorhees. He's an icon of the genre.
It certainly didn't hurt that "Saw X" is one of the best-reviewed movies in the series (read our own positive review here), nor that Lionsgate went back to basics with this one. After experimenting a bit with 2021's "Spiral: From the Book of Saw," this film went way back in the "Saw" timeline, serving as a prequel set between "Saw" and "Saw II," which allowed Bell to return as Jigsaw once again. Audiences noticed that he was front-and-center once more, and that brought a lot of people back to play this particular game.
John Kramer will return
What's most impressive is a $100 million run against a $13 million budget still makes "Saw X" one of the lowest-grossing entries in the entire series. Only two "Saw" films — "Spiral" ($39.5 million worldwide) and "Saw VI" ($69.7 million worldwide) — have now failed to cross the $100 million mark. The series hit its commercial high mark in 2006 with "Saw III" ($163.8 million worldwide) and, to date, has pulled in a whopping $1.12 billion worldwide against a combined budget totaling $108 million. That essentially makes this franchise a license to print money.
That being the case, it is all but assured that Lionsgate will announce "Saw 11" sooner rather than later. Given that the Screen Actors Guild strike is finally over, the studios can start cutting deals with talent to get projects off the ground sooner rather than later. While nothing is confirmed by any means, the "Saw" franchise's producers revealed to /Film earlier this year that they have ideas brewing for the next entry. More likely than not, those ideas are going to be put to good use before long.
"Saw X" is in theaters and on digital now, with its Blu-ray set to hit shelves on November 21, 2023.