| Saw | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | |
| Original work | Saw (2004) |
| Owners |
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| Years | 2004–present |
| Print publications | |
| Comics | Saw: Rebirth (2005) |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | |
| Short film(s) |
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| Television series | Scream Queens (2008) |
| Games | |
| Video game(s) |
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| Miscellaneous | |
| Theme park attraction(s) | Saw – The Ride |
Saw is ahorrormedia franchise created by Australian filmmakersJames Wan andLeigh Whannell, which began with theeponymous 2004 film and quickly became a worldwidepop culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded from films into other media, including a television series, video games, comic books, music, theme park attractions, and merchandising including toys, masks, and clothing.Saw is one of thehighest-grossing horror film franchises of all-time.
The series revolves around the fictionalserial killerJohn "Jigsaw" Kramer and his apprentices. Kramer was introduced briefly inSaw and developed in more detail in the subsequent films. Rather than killing hisvictims outright, he traps them in life-threatening situations that he refers to as "tests" or "games" to test their will to survive through physical or psychological torture, believing that if they survive, they will be "rehabilitated".
In 2003, Wan and Whannell made a short film to helppitch a potential feature film concept, after having the original script written for several years. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to receive funding in their home country ofAustralia, Wan and Whannell traveled to theUnited States, after several producers expressed interest in the project. It was ultimately successful, and, in 2004, the first installment debuted at theSundance Film Festival and was released theatrically that October byLionsgate. After its immensely successful opening weekend, thefirst of many sequels was immediatelygreen-lit. Five directors[a] have worked on the series:James Wan,Darren Lynn Bousman,David Hackl,Kevin Greutert andThe Spierig Brothers; while Whannell, Bousman,Patrick Melton,Marcus Dunstan,Josh Stolberg, and Peter Goldfinger have written the screenplays. Both creators remain with the franchise asexecutive producers.
The film series has been abox office success, grossing more than $1 billion from box office and retail sales. The first, sixth, and ninth films received mixed reviews, while the second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth films received negative reviews. The tenth film received generally positive reviews from critics, becoming the only film in the franchise to do so. An eleventh film was scheduled for September 2025 but was stalled in March 2025.
| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saw | October 29, 2004 (2004-10-29) | James Wan | Leigh Whannell | James Wan & Leigh Whannell | Gregg Hoffman,Oren Koules andMark Burg |
| Saw II | October 28, 2005 (2005-10-28) | Darren Lynn Bousman | Leigh Whannell and Darren Lynn Bousman | ||
| Saw III | October 27, 2006 (2006-10-27) | Leigh Whannell | James Wan & Leigh Whannell | ||
| Saw IV | October 26, 2007 (2007-10-26) | Patrick Melton &Marcus Dunstan | Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan andThomas Fenton | ||
| Saw V | October 24, 2008 (2008-10-24) | David Hackl | Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan | ||
| Saw VI | October 23, 2009 (2009-10-23) | Kevin Greutert | |||
| Saw 3D | October 29, 2010 (2010-10-29) | ||||
| Jigsaw | October 27, 2017 (2017-10-27) | The Spierig Brothers | Josh Stolberg & Peter Goldfinger | ||
| Spiral | May 14, 2021 (2021-05-14) | Darren Lynn Bousman | |||
| Saw X | September 29, 2023 (2023-09-29) | Kevin Greutert | |||
In September 2023, producersMark Burg andOren Koules stated there were tentative plans for future installments in theSaw series, dependent on the reception and success ofSaw X (2023).[2] Later that month,Josh Stolberg—co-writer ofJigsaw (2017),Spiral (2021), andSaw X—announced that there were active plans for an eleventh installment. Both Burg and Koules stated that themid-credits scene ofSaw X was intended to set up a future film which would again include the characterMark Hoffman.[3][4][5] The character Cecilia was intentionally left alive for a possible sequel to expand her character upon.[6] The following month,Kevin Greutert—director ofSaw VI (2009),Saw 3D (2010), andSaw X—toldThe Hollywood Reporter that, "there are so many directions we could go, but for me, there's no obvious one coming out of this film. I really wanted it to feel like a kind of final send-off for the Jigsaw character, but never say never".[7] In October 2024,Tobin Bell was officially confirmed byLos Angeles Times to be reprising once again his role asJohn Kramer / Jigsaw in the film, teasing that the character "isn't done" yet and there is more to learn about him.[8]
In December, Lionsgate confirmedSaw XI on theirInstagram account, with a release date of September 27, 2024.[9] However, in April 2024, the film was delayed to September 26, 2025.[10] Koules stated the film would likely be a direct sequel toSaw X.[11] Greutert was set to direct.[12] In March 2025, it was reported that work on the film had stalled.Patrick Melton andMarcus Dunstan, who wrote the fourth to the seventh film, turned in a draft of the script in mid-2024.[13] However, in August later that year, Oren Koules confirmed it was cancelled due to "[having] a difference of opinion [with Mark Burg], and we couldn't resolve it."[14]
In June 2025,Blumhouse Productions boughtTwisted Pictures' stake in the franchise, with Lionsgate still being involved.[15][16] Franchise co-creatorJames Wan will be creatively involved with a newSaw film for the first time sinceSaw III (2006).[17] In October 2025,Jason Blum announced Wan's creative return to the franchise, expressing a desire that Wan's creative outlook returns to the franchise.[18]
| Title | U.S. wide-release date | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saw | October 18, 2003 (2003-10-18) | James Wan | Leigh Whannell | Darren McFarlane |
| Full Disclosure Report | October 31, 2005 (2005-10-31) | — | — | — |
| The Scott Tibbs Documentary | October 24, 2006 (2006-10-24) | Kelly Pancho | Kelly Pancho & Mark Atkinson | Kelly Pancho |
Saw, often referred to asSaw 0.5, is a 2003short film that served as a promotional tool in pitching afeature-length version toLionsgate. It is included on the second disc of the uncut DVD release ofSaw. It has also been released alone, and on theSaw Trilogy DVD containingSaw Uncut Edition,Saw II Special Edition, andSaw III Director's Cut, packaged with a limited-edition 3D puppet-head box version ofBilly the Puppet.
A mockumentary short film,Full Disclosure Report, was released in 2005 as part of theSaw: Uncut DVD-release. The story takes place between the first and second films and features reporters trying to figure out who Jigsaw is and discussing his victims. The short film marks the first appearance of detectiveEric Matthews, before his appearance inSaw II.[19]
Another mockumentary short film,The Scott Tibbs Documentary, was released in 2006 as part of theSaw II: Unrated Special Edition DVD-release. The story takes place between the second and third films, where Adam Stanheight's friend Scott Tibbs, leader of the rock band "Wrath of the Gods", is filming a documentary about Jigsaw and his victims.[20]
Saw: Rebirth is originally a comic book released byIDW in 2005 and tells the story of the events that spurred the transformation of John Kramer into Jigsaw.[21] Later, it was released as a short film in the form of amotion comic on the originalSaw II website.[22]
In April 2021,Lionsgate Television chairman Kevin Beggs announced in an interview withDeadline Hollywood that Lionsgate TV was in early talks on a television series adaptation or continuation of the filmSpiral.[23]
This section includes characters who have appeared in more than two films in the series.
| Character | Saw | Saw II | Saw III | Saw IV | Saw V | Saw VI | Saw 3D | Jigsaw | Spiral | Saw X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2017 | 2021 | 2023 | |
| John Kramer Jigsaw | Tobin Bell | Tobin BellP | Tobin Bell | |||||||
| Amanda Young | Shawnee Smith | Shawnee SmithA | Shawnee Smith | Shawnee SmithA | Shawnee Smith | |||||
| Lawrence Gordon | Cary Elwes | Cary ElwesV | Body doubleC | Mentioned | Cary Elwes | |||||
| Adam Stanheight | Leigh Whannell | Leigh WhannellVS | Leigh Whannell | Mentioned | Leigh WhannellA | Leigh WhannellAVS | Leigh WhannellS | |||
| Zep Hindle | Michael Emerson | Michael EmersonVS | Michael EmersonAS | Mentioned | Michael EmersonAS | Michael EmersonS | ||||
| David Tapp | Danny Glover | Danny GloverA | Danny GloverAP | |||||||
| Steven Sing | Ken Leung | Ken LeungA | Ken LeungP | |||||||
| Allison Kerry | Dina Meyer | Dina MeyerP | ||||||||
| Eric Matthews | Donnie Wahlberg | Donnie WahlbergAP | ||||||||
| Daniel Rigg | Lyriq Bent | Lyriq BentAP | ||||||||
| Daniel Matthews | Erik Knudsen | Erik KnudsenA | Erik KnudsenP | Body doubleC | Erik KnudsenA | |||||
| Obi Tate | Timothy Burd | Timothy BurdC | Timothy BurdC | Timothy BurdA | Timothy BurdP | |||||
| Xavier | Franky G | Franky GC | Franky GC | Franky GA | ||||||
| Addison | Emmanuelle Vaugier | Emmanuelle VaugierA | Emmanuelle VaugierP | |||||||
| Mark Hoffman | Costas Mandylor | Costas MandylorC | ||||||||
| Jill Tuck | Betsy Russell | Mentioned | ||||||||
| Jeff Denlon | Angus Macfadyen | Angus MacfadyenC | Angus MacfadyenA | Mentioned | ||||||
| Lynn Denlon | Bahar Soomekh | Bahar SoomekhA | ||||||||
| Corbett Denlon | Niamh Wilson | Niamh WilsonC | ||||||||
| Peter Strahm | Scott Patterson | Scott PattersonA | ||||||||
| Lindsey Perez | Athena Karkanis | Athena KarkanisA | Athena Karkanis | |||||||
| Dan Erickson | Mark Rolston | |||||||||
| Brit | Julie Benz | Mentioned | ||||||||
| Mallick | Greg Bryk | Greg Bryk | ||||||||
| Pamela Jenkins | Samantha Lemole | Mentioned | ||||||||
| William Easton | Peter Outerbridge | Peter OuterbridgeP | ||||||||
| Film | Crew/Detail | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Cinematographer | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributing company | Running time | ||
| Saw | Charlie Clouser | David A. Armstrong | Kevin Greutert | Twisted Pictures Saw Productions Inc. Evolution Entertainment | Lions Gate Films | 103 min | |
| Saw II | Got Films Twisted Pictures Lions Gate Films Saw 2 Productions Evolution Entertainment | 93 min | |||||
| Saw III | Twisted Pictures Saw 2 Productions Cinespace Film Studios Evolution Entertainment Ontario Production Services Tax Credit Canadian Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit | Lionsgate | 108 min | ||||
| Saw IV | Brett Sullivan Kevin Greutert | Twisted Pictures Ontario Production Services Tax Credit Canadian Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit | 92 min | ||||
| Saw V | Kevin Greutert | Twisted Pictures Mandate Pictures Ontario Production Services Tax Credit Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit | |||||
| Saw VI | Andrew Coutts | StudioCanal A Bigger Boat Twisted Pictures Saw VI Productions | 90 min | ||||
| Saw 3D | Brian Gedge | StudioCanal A Bigger Boat Twisted Pictures Serendipity Productions | |||||
| Jigsaw | Ben Nott | Kevin Greutert | A Bigger Boat Twisted Pictures Serendipity Productions Burg Koules Hoffman Productions Ontario Production Services Tax Credit Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit | 92 min | |||
| Spiral | Jordan Oram | Dev Singh | Dahlstar Twisted Pictures Serendipity Productions Burg Koules Productions Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit | 93 min | |||
| Saw X | Nick Matthews | Kevin Greutert | Twisted Pictures Burg Koules Productions | 118 min | |||
 | This sectionconsists almost entirely of aplot summary. Please helpimprove the section by providing morereal-world context.(December 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Saw story chronology[b] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The series takes place primarily in an unnamed city in the United States. Flashbacks fromSaw IV reveal the roots of the series, presentingJohn Kramer as a successfulcivil engineer and devoted husband to his wifeJill Tuck, who opened a rehab clinic for drug addicts. Jill loses her unborn child, Gideon, due to the unwitting actions of a drug addict namedCecil, who flees the scene.Saw VI later showed that another drug addict,Amanda Young, had been with Cecil on the night that he unwittingly caused Gideon's death, unbeknownst to John or Jill. Grieving the loss of his child, John distances himself from his friends and wife.
John and Jill eventually drift apart and divorce. John finds himself trapped by his own complacency until he is diagnosed with inoperablecancer. Extremely bitter over his squandered life and the loss of his unborn son, he begins observing the lives of others and becomes even more depressed as he sees them squandering the gift of life that he had just been denied. He approaches an insurance executive namedWilliam Easton, asking for coverage for an experimental cancer treatment, but is denied. Flashbacks fromSaw II show that, after surviving asuicide attempt where he drives his car off a cliff, John is "reborn", and nurtures the idea that the only way for someone to change is for them to change themselves. Then, inSaw IV flashbacks, he designs the first trap and test for Cecil, and decides to use the rest of his existence to design more of these "tests" or "games" as a form of "instant rehabilitation" that would change the world "one person at a time". John is soon given the nickname "The Jigsaw Killer" (or "Jigsaw"), because he removes a puzzle piece-shaped chunk of flesh from those who do not escape his traps. John states that this name was given to him by the media, and that the cut piece of flesh represent that the victims were missing what he called the "survival instinct".
Few of John's victims can survive his brutal mechanical traps, which are oftenironicallysymbolic representations of problems in the victim's life and require them to undergo severe physical and/or psychologicaltorture to escape.
Jigsaw depicts one of John's first games, which never becomes public. The only survivor isLogan Nelson, the man who accidentally mislabeled John's x-rays, causing his cancer to go undiagnosed until it was too late. Believing Logan should not die over an honest mistake, John saves him before he is killed by one of the traps, and recruits him as his firstapprentice. Logan helps John build several traps for future games, but for unknown reasons seemed to part ways with John by the events ofSaw VI, since he is not mentioned in John's will or seen in any capacity.
InSaw V, police lieutenantMark Hoffman's ties with John are revealed in a series of flashbacks. During John's first years of activity, Hoffman's sister was murdered by her boyfriend,Seth Baxter. Seth is sentenced tolife imprisonment; however, a technicality allows him to go free after only five years. Hoffman then kills him in an inescapable trap designed to resemble a Jigsaw trap; everyone then believes that Jigsaw was behind the killing. John then kidnaps Hoffman and blackmails him into becoming his apprentice in his "rehabilitation" methods. Though initially forced to help, Hoffman later becomes a willing apprentice, and helps set up most of John's tests.
After beating her test, Amanda becomes the first publicly-known survivor of a Jigsaw game. She comes to see John as a hero who changed her life for the better and, on John's request, becomes hisprotégée and next apprentice. John shows her rehabilitation to Jill, who becomes aware of his traps and somewhat of an accomplice as well.
InSaw, John chains the man who diagnosed his cancer,Dr. Lawrence Gordon, in a dilapidated industrial washroom withAdam Stanheight, a photographer who has been tailing the doctor, believing he is cheating on his wife. Lawrence has instructions to kill Adam by six o'clock or his wife and daughter will be killed. Flashbacks show DetectivesDavid Tapp andSteven Sing, who suspect Lawrence of being Jigsaw, following a trail of clues from other Jigsaw traps. Sing's death from a shotgun trap after saving a victim causes Tapp to obsess over catching Jigsaw. Later, he chasesZep Hindle, who monitors Adam and Lawrence's tests, and is shot in the chest. Eventually, Lawrence saws off his own foot to escape, leaving Adam in the bathroom while Lawrence tries to save his family and get help for Adam. It is later seen inSaw 3D that Lawrence finds a steaming hot pipe and cauterizes his wound, stopping the bleeding and ultimately surviving the trap. John catches up with Lawrence and makes him his next apprentice, a fact he hides from his other accomplices. Flashbacks fromSaw III show that Amanda kidnapped Adam and later returned to suffocate him as an act of "mercy killing".
Saw X takes place between the events ofSaw andSaw II, and sees John traveling to Mexico in hopes that a Norwegian cancer treatment will cure him. However, when the operation is proven to be a scam, John, with the help of Amanda and Hoffman, kidnaps those responsible and subjects them to his traps, ultimately ending with the death of all but Dr. Cecilia Pederson.
Saw II begins with the police tracking a severely weakened John to his lair. However, another test is in place, as he and Amanda have kidnapped the son of DetectiveEric Matthews and trapped him and a group of seven convicts, previously framed by Eric, in a house that is slowly being filled withsarin gas, with Amanda among them. He will tradeDaniel Matthews' life for Eric's time, conversing with him until the game is concluded. Eric loses his patience and assaults John, forcing him to take him to the house, only to discover that the video feed from inside the house had been pre-recorded; the events in it actually took place much earlier. Eric's son was locked in a safe in John's warehouse and kept alive with an oxygen tank. Eric is knocked unconscious by a masked figure and wakes up imprisoned in the bathroom fromSaw, which is part of the house's foundation. Amanda reveals herself to Eric as John's protégée before leaving him to die. In a flashback fromSaw III, Eric manages to escape the bathroom by breaking his foot. He confronts and beats Amanda, demanding to know where his son is. Amanda fights him off and leaves him for dead. A flashback fromSaw IV shows Hoffman later dragging Eric to a prison cell, keeping him alive for a future game.
The events ofSaw III andSaw IV occur concurrently.Saw III begins with John, weakened and near death, confined to a makeshift hospital bed. Amanda has taken over his work, designing traps of her own; however, these traps are inescapable, as Amanda is convinced that John's traps have no effect and that people do not change.Lynn Denlon, a kidnapped doctor, is forced to keep John alive while another test is performed onJeff Denlon, a man obsessed with vengeance against the drunk driver who killed his son. John, unwilling to allow a murderer to continue his legacy, designs a test for Amanda as well; she ultimately fails, resulting in the deaths of herself, John, Lynn, and Jeff.Saw IV, meanwhile, revolves around tests meant for OfficerDaniel Rigg, which are overseen by Hoffman, who masquerades as a participant in the game. Rigg fails his test, resulting in Eric's death. Rigg is left to bleed to death by Hoffman, who later discovers the bodies of John and Amanda. When anautopsy is performed on John, acassette tape coated in wax is found in hisstomach; the tape informs Hoffman that he is wrong to think that it is all over just because John is dead, and he should not expect to go untested.
The events ofSaw V show Hoffman's first solo test: five people connected to a disastrous fire that killed several others are put into four interconnected tests of teamwork, killing off one person in each trap. The two remaining test subjects realize at the final trap that each previous trap was meant to be completed by each of the five people doing a small part, rather than killing one person per trap. With this knowledge, they work together and barely manage to escape. They are found alive by Special AgentDan Erickson. Meanwhile, Hoffman has set up FBI AgentPeter Strahm to appear to be Jigsaw's accomplice, while Strahm pursues Hoffman and is eventually killed due to his inability to follow Hoffman's rules, leaving Hoffman free to continue Jigsaw's "work".
Saw VI begins with Hoffman setting up a game as per John's instructions left in a box for Jill duringSaw V. This game centers on the health insurance executive, William, who oversees a team responsible for rejecting two-thirds of all insurance claims. As William progresses through four tests, he saves as many people as he can and learns the error of his ways, which inherently "kill" the rejected. His last test is a test of forgiveness by the family ofHarold Abbott, whom William refused a claim. Harold's son ultimately chooses to kill William withhydrofluoric acid. Meanwhile, Agent Erickson and the previously thought-dead AgentLindsey Perez search for Agent Strahm with Hoffman's assistance. Finding irregularities in previous murder scenes, Perez and Erickson discover Hoffman's identity, but he kills them before they can go public with it. Hoffman travels back to the site of William's tests, where Jill attacks him to obey John's final request. She leaves him in a new trap John has left behind and does not leave a key for him to free himself. He is able to manipulate the trap and escapes wounded.
Saw 3D picks up with Jill and Hoffman battling for control of John's legacy. As Jill enters protective custody and makes Hoffman's identity public, Hoffman sets up a new game involvingskinheads to find a way to Jill. Meanwhile,Bobby Dagen, a fraud who has written a book about escaping a Jigsaw trap he never experienced, is captured and forced to confront people who knew that he lied about being in a trap. Three of Bobby's friends die and his test concludes with him being forced to re-enact the trap he claimed to have escaped. He fails, causing the death of his wife. Meanwhile, Hoffman poses as a corpse and kills several officers to infiltrate the police station. He finds and kills Jill using the reverse bear trap. Hoffman attempts to leave town but is captured by Lawrence and his accomplices, then placed in the bathroom fromSaw. Lawrence leaves Hoffman shackled in the bathroom to die.
The present-day portion ofJigsaw takes place roughly ten years after John's death inSaw III. When a new Jigsaw game leaves several people dead, the police come to believe that either John has been resurrected, or a Jigsaw copycat is involved. It is eventually revealed that Logan is the new Jigsaw Killer, and that he recreated the game he was once part of using new victims. Logan abducts corrupt detectiveBrad Halloran and kills him as revenge for him being indirectly responsible for the death of Logan's wife. Having successfully framed Halloran as the killer, Logan escapes and is free to continue Jigsaw's work.
Spiral takes place an unknown amount of time after John's death, as another Jigsaw copycat creates their own games to punish corrupt police officers and detectives. The case is investigated by DetectiveZeke Banks, who eventually discovers that his new partner, DetectiveWilliam Schenk, is the killer. Schenk kidnaps Zeke's fatherMarcus, who is largely responsible for the corruption in the police department, and reveals that his own father was killed by a dirty cop and that he hopes to recruit Zeke as a partner in cleansing the department of corruption. Zeke is then forced to choose between killing Schenk or saving his father; he manages to rescue Marcus, but Schenk calls aSWAT team and makes it appear that Marcus is the aggressor and is holding a gun. Schenk then escapes as the SWAT team restrains Zeke and shoots Marcus to death.
Billy the Puppet
Billy is a puppet resembling aventriloquist's dummy, sometimes seen riding atricycle, that has appeared throughout the films and has become a type ofmascot for the series. It is used by theJigsaw Killer to communicate with his victims by delivering televised messages or occasionally in person to describe details of the sadistic traps and the means by which the victims could survive. Viewers have sometimes incorrectly identified the puppet itself as Jigsaw, because of its presence and connection to the killer.
Age and use of the puppet over the course of the films necessitated its reconstruction. According toJames Wan, the original puppet's face forSaw involved clay,papier-mâché, and black ping-pong balls with the irises painted in for the eyes, but in later films more sophisticated construction includedwaterjet-cut foam for the body and remote-controlledanimatronics.[25]
The endurance and popularity of the franchise has resulted in the production ofBilly merchandise, as well as references in other media and its use in promotions for the films.
"Hello Zepp"
"Hello Zepp" is a piece of instrumental music that was originally composed byCharlie Clouser for the first film in the series. InSaw, the implied villain, Zep Hindle, is revealed to actually be a victim of the Jigsaw Killer. The character's name in the script is spelled "Zep", whereas the music titles are spelled "Zepp" as a reference to the popular '80s bandZapp.[26][27] As the series continued, the piece was reused in every film as aleitmotif, often being renamed and remixed to accommodate the changing situations and characters. The music was used in everySaw ending, usually during the revealing of plot revelations and twists whichSaw films often use and it serves as the main theme tune for the whole series.
Traps
An important component of each film is the variety of (usually mechanical in form) traps Jigsaw and his apprentices use on their captives to communicate his message.
According toDavid Hackl, all of the traps are real objects, and notCGI. They were designed to look horrific but ultimately be safe for the actors in them. WriterMarcus Dunstan said: "It's built to function there on the day", and added: "It works. So if there's a scalping chair—there really was a chair with working gears to grind and pull your scalp back." The most potentially dangerous item was a "water box" used inSaw V, in which one of the actors (Scott Patterson, as Peter Strahm) had to keep his head submerged as long as possible. Another element of the traps is that Hackl desired a specific look of rust and menace, but he also wanted them to have a type of beauty about them.[28]
Saw grossed $18.2 million its opening weekend and had becomeLionsgate's second-best opening, afterFahrenheit 9/11's$23.9 million (2004).[31]Saw went on to gross$103 million worldwide,[32] and is the fourth-lowest-grossing film in the series afterJigsaw,Saw VI, andSpiral.[33] At the time, it became the most profitable horror film afterScream (1996). It is the seventh-highest-grossingHalloween opening weekend.[34]Saw II opened at number one with $31.7 million,[35] and set a Lionsgate Halloween opening-weekend record and is also the third-highest-grossing Halloween opener. It became at the time, the widest release in Lionsgate history and one of the best opening weekends for a horror sequel. It is Lionsgate's fourth-highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada.[36]Saw III placed first by grossing $33.6 million its opening weekend, making it the biggest Halloween debut ever[34] and at the time, Lionsgate's highest-opening weekend.[37] It is the highest-grossing film in the series worldwide.[33][38] It has the highest-grossing weekend in the series and also Lionsgate's fifth-highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada.[33][36]
Saw IV premiered at number one with $32.1 million making it the second-best Halloween weekend opener.[34][39] InSaw V's opening weekend it placed second, being beat byHigh School Musical 3: Senior Year, and made $30.1 million.[40] It is Lionsgate's tenth-highest-grossing film.[36]Saw VI opened in second place behindParanormal Activity to $14.1 million,[41] which is the lowest of all theSaw films worldwide. It is also the lowest-grossing film in the series.[33]Saw 3D placed first grossing $22.5 million its opening weekend, with 92% of tickets coming from more than 2,100 3D-equipped locations.[42][43] It had the fifth-best opening weekend in theSaw series.[44] It is the most successful film in the franchise sinceSaw IV.[45] In the United States and Canada,Jigsaw was released alongsideThank You for Your Service andSuburbicon, and is projected to gross around $20 million from 2,941 theaters in its opening weekend.[46] It made $1.6 million from Thursday night previews at 2,400 theaters, just below the $1.7 millionSaw 3D made from midnight screenings seven years prior, and $7.2 million on its first day. It went on to open to $16.64 million, finishing first at the box office but marking the second lowest debut of the franchise.[47] In its second weekend the film dropped 61% to $6.56 million, finishing third behind newcomersThor: Ragnarok andA Bad Moms Christmas.[48] In its third weekend, the film dropped another 47% and made $3.43 million, finishing fifth.
TheSaw series, when compared to the other top-grossing American horror series—A Nightmare on Elm Street,Child's Play,Friday the 13th,Halloween,Scream, andThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre—and adjusting for 2023 inflation, is the fifth highest grossing series with $688.3 million.[49]Halloween is the highest-grossing horror series in the United States at approximately $1.09 billion,[50][51] withFriday the 13th in second at $908.4 million,[52] TheNightmare on Elm Street series is in third with $793.5 million.[53] TheScream film series is in fourth place with $779.5 million.[54]The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series is in sixth with $459.7 million,[55] and theChild's Play film series rounding out the list with $305.2 million.[56]
The box office numbers, unadjusted for inflation are as follows:
| Film | Year | Revenue | Budget | References | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States and Canada | Other markets | Worldwide | ||||
| Saw | 2004 | $56,000,369 | $48,003,849 | $104,004,218 | $1–1.2 million | [32][57] |
| Saw II | 2005 | $87,039,965 | $60,708,540 | $147,748,505 | $4 million | [58] |
| Saw III | 2006 | $80,238,724 | $84,635,551 | $164,874,275 | $10 million | [38] |
| Saw IV | 2007 | $63,300,095 | $76,052,538 | $139,352,633 | $10 million | [59][60] |
| Saw V | 2008 | $56,746,769 | $57,117,290 | $113,864,059 | $10.8 million | [61] |
| Saw VI | 2009 | $27,693,292 | $40,540,337 | $68,233,629 | $11 million | [62] |
| Saw 3D | 2010 | $45,710,178 | $90,440,256 | $136,150,434 | $17 million | [63] |
| Jigsaw | 2017 | $38,052,832 | $64,900,056 | $102,952,888 | $10 million | [64] |
| Spiral | 2021 | $23,216,862 | $17,392,032 | $40,608,894 | $20 million | [65] |
| Saw X | 2023 | $53,607,898 | $71,711,816 | $125,319,714 | $13 million | [66][67] |
| Total | $529 million | $583 million | $1.1 billion | $120 million | ||
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OnIGN's list of the top twenty-five film franchises of all time, theSaw series ranked as 25th.[68]Rotten Tomatoes ranked the series as the 7th-best horror franchise of all time.[69]
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore[70] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saw | 50% (193 reviews)[71] | 46 (32 reviews)[72] | C+ |
| Saw II | 37% (124 reviews)[73] | 40 (28 reviews)[74] | B+ |
| Saw III | 29% (95 reviews)[75] | 48 (16 reviews)[76] | B |
| Saw IV | 18% (84 reviews)[77] | 36 (16 reviews)[78] | B |
| Saw V | 13% (77 reviews)[79] | 20 (13 reviews)[80] | C |
| Saw VI | 39% (75 reviews)[81] | 30 (12 reviews)[82] | B |
| Saw 3D | 9% (82 reviews)[83] | 24 (17 reviews)[84] | B- |
| Jigsaw | 32% (91 reviews)[85] | 39 (18 reviews)[86] | B |
| Spiral | 37% (229 reviews)[87] | 40 (33 reviews)[88] | B- |
| Saw X | 81% (149 reviews)[89] | 60 (24 reviews)[90] | B |
Japanese video game companyKonami currently owns the rights to theSaw interactive video game property. Konami stated in mid-2009 that they wanted to makeSaw a series of video games to supplement the films. They also wished to makeSaw their next big survival horror franchise next to their other property,Silent Hill. They stated that becauseSaw focuses on visual intensity andSilent Hill focuses on psychological terror, both could exist in the video game industry without directly competing against each other.[91]
The first game in the series,Saw, set between the first and second film in the series, was initially released on October 6, 2009,[92][93][94] with a sequelSaw II: Flesh & Blood, released on October 19, 2010, for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, ten days before the release of the seventh film,Saw 3D.[95]
David Tapp and Amanda Young were released as part of the downloadableSaw Chapter for the video gameDead by Daylight.[96]
Billy the Puppet has appeared as a skin in the video gamesCall of Duty: Warzone,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare,Call of Duty: Mobile, andFortnite, and in a decal and as a goal explosion inRocket League.[97][98][99][100] Billy the Puppet was also appeared onDelta Force in addition to the franchise-based chainsaw and weapon skins.[101]
In October 2021, Twisted Productions co-founders Burg and Koules confirmed a thirdSaw video game was in development for thePlayStation 5 andXbox Series X.[102][103][104][105]
Saw: Rebirth, acomic book prequel to the original film released to promoteSaw II. Itscanonicity was later contradicted by events inSaw IV. It is, however, the first canonical appearance of Jigsaw's wife, Jill, who was later introduced into the film series inSaw III and established still-canonical elements of Jigsaw's backstory (an engineer who is dying from brain cancer).
Merchandising includesBilly the Puppet dolls,Jigsaw figurines and costumes, andPig mask figurines and masks.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)Bousman: The budget is exactly the same as it was forSaw 3.
At this point I view it as getting paid to go through a $17 million dollar one-man 3D film school program, so how's that for looking at the bright side of a dark situation?
