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Saw III was the biggest movie of the weekend, trapping the young within its bloody grip. After the breakout hit that was the original film, the Saw franchise is turning into an October tradition. I wonder if they will be able to churn one out for next year to keep the trend going? It is the perfect movie to go see with a bunch of bloodthirsty friends looking for a good time without having to resort to the real thing.

This years entry takes us further into the mental recesses of the predatory Jigsaw, as he further succumbs to his cancerous growth. This go around takes us into his desire to complete the training of his protege, and for the most part it works. It is an interesting film in how it tries to give us a story that weaves trough the bloody tricks. Not perfect by any stretch, but good enough to be worth seeing on the big screen.

Only one other film cracked into the top ten, Running with Scissors. It entered at number 10, up from its debut at number 29. I have yet to make up my mind on whether or not I like the movie, but it does offer a couple of intriguing elements, in particular, Annette Benning’s indulgent performance. See it at your own risk.

When it comes to the box office, no conversation would be complete without mentioning Martin Scorsese’s latest. The Departed is quickly becoming the biggest hit of Marty’s career, and is one of the best films of the year. After opening strong in the number 1 position, it has held strong at the number two hole. This week, its third at the runner up slot, offered the toughest competition as it narrowly beat out last week’s number 1 movie, The Prestige, by a mere $300K. This is a fantastic movie, and it seriously warms my heart to see a well deserving film finding a home and an audience.

That was only one of the close knit battles, there was one that was even closer. Flicka squeaked by Man of the Year. The margin between these two was just $301, that is the closest spread I have seen in quite some time.

Overall, the box office had a pretty good week, with most of the returning films doing solid returns compared to last week. Only The Grudge 2 and Marie Antoinette (which is actually very good) having considerable drop offs.

Two films dropped from the list this week: The Marine (15), and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (18).

Box Office Predictions Recap
Was there any doubt what the number one movie was going to be? Saw III decimated the competition on the weekend leading into Halloween. It didn’t have as big a jump over the second film as that one did over the original, but it still showed a little increase. I got 3 other films right, with numbers 4, 5, and 8. I also seriously overestimated Catch a Fire, it is a good movie, but just didn’t seem to catch on to fall in line with my predictions. Oh well, better luck next week.