In North America, theaters can tweak showtimes and seating daily, but scaling up a film's release happens on a weekly cycle. So, if Saw wanted a bigger rollout, it had to prove itself during Halloween week to win over the theater chains.
November 1st, Wednesday: 78 theaters, averaging 34 attendees per showing, raking in $1.21 million for the day.
November 2nd, Thursday: attendance dipped to 21 per showing, pulling in $0.8 million.
November 3rd, Friday: with the weekend kicking in, Saw hit a viewing surge—29 attendees per showing, 12 screenings per theater on average, and a daily haul of $1.47 million!
Specialty horror chains were all in, boosting Saw's screening rate to a wild 674%. And this was during Halloween's mini-season, with over a dozen horror flicks in play!
"Not bad…"
By Saturday, the A Beautiful Mind crew took their usual break, and Dunn jetted back to L.A. early to check Saw's box office numbers. Sure, $0.35 million daily wasn't much next to blockbuster hauls, but for a test-screening kickoff, it was a solid start. At the very least, it was wiping the floor with every other horror flick in its slot!
Back at Dunn Films, he found Vice President of Distribution West Cotton, Rampage Films President Glenn Morgan, and director Zack Snyder waiting in his office.
"Zack, first off—congrats!" Dunn said, half-joking.
Zack Snyder looked flustered, almost overwhelmed. "Mr. Walker, I can't thank you enough for your support and trust! Saw's just a small win—nothing worth bragging about."
Dunn waved it off with a smirk. "Nothing worth bragging about? Come on, I'm counting on Saw to take down Disney's Unbreakable!"
Zack's face twitched. He'd heard whispers around the company but never bought it. Now Dunn was saying it himself?
"What? No faith?" Dunn pressed.
"I… uh…" Zack stammered.
West Cotton chuckled. "Zack, this is company strategy—nothing to do with you. As a director, just keep your focus on the film itself."
Dunn nodded. "Exactly. Zack, you get the Resident Evil game figured out yet? That's your next gig, and it's not some low-budget B-movie this time."
Glenn Morgan's expression soured a bit. Rampage Films was all about churning out flicks under $5 million, but Resident Evil? A big-action horror spectacle. The production team pegged its budget at no less than $30 million! A mid-tier project like that would likely go straight to Dunn Films' main production arm—high priority, no question.
Zack Snyder fidgeted. "Mr. Walker, I've had that game nailed for ages. But Resident Evil… it's a big investment. Shouldn't we hold off?"
"No need!" Dunn cut him off with a grand gesture. "Zack, this is the path I've set for you. Whether Saw blows up or not, Resident Evil is yours. I've said it before—you're headed for mainstream blockbusters. I'm betting you can shoulder the load and carry Dunn Films' future!"
Zack was practically tripping over his words. "Sir, this…"
"Relax, Zack," West Cotton said, clapping his shoulder with a grin. "You don't know the boss yet? Once he's set on something—or someone—he sticks to it. And don't feel too flattered—those Brits, Sam Mendes and Christopher Nolan, are getting just as much love."
As a top strategist at the company, West Cotton had a clear read on Dunn's network game. Inside, he was building a crew of promising mid-career directors—Christopher Nolan, Sam Mendes, Zack Snyder, Tim Burton, Luc Besson, Ang Lee, even M. Night Shyamalan (still tied to Disney for now). Outside, Dunn had locked in the "Aussie crew," cozied up to the British film scene, and lately started flirting with France and Spain, pulling Europe into his orbit.
Dunn Films might lack Hollywood roots, but with these moves, he was fast-tracking a massive network and carving out his own turf.
"Alright, let's talk next week's rollout," Dunn said, shifting gears. "With this box office trend, how many more theaters can Saw snag?"
West Cotton jumped in. "Horror's niche, but the fans are die-hard. Word spreads quick, and it hooks curious viewers fast. Saw's got solid attendance and screening rates right now. If the weekend doesn't tank, we could add 1,500 theaters next week, no problem!"
"Oh?" Dunn's eyebrow ticked up as he locked eyes with him. "You sure?"
West hesitated slightly.
"Hm?"
"Here's the deal," West explained. "Adding 1,500 theaters makes sense on paper. But the real number depends on the chains' internal reviews and their relationships. For a blockbuster, they'd adjust without blinking. Personal favors wouldn't matter."
Dunn caught on. "But for a small-fry horror flick like Saw, they might tweak things to kiss up to the distributor?"
West nodded firmly. "Exactly. It boils down to Focus Features being too green. I haven't had time to build the connections."
Dunn waved it off. "Not your fault. Focus has only been ours for two months—you've done solid work already."
Zack Snyder picked up a vibe. "Wait… is someone trying to mess with Saw?"
West shot him a look, and Zack clammed up quick.
Dunn just smirked.
Mess with him? These days, who'd dare pull that kind of stunt on Dunn so blatantly?
…
Saturday rolled in, and Saw's buzz was cooking. Average per-theater take topped $3,000, with a daily total of $2.57 million! Sunday kept the heat on—some theaters even had hardcore fans showing up in packs, chanting the film's iconic line: "Too many people lack gratitude for survival, but you never will." That day, the 78 theaters pulled in another $2.15 million.
The numbers might not scream "huge," but in the weekend's North American horror circuit, Saw claimed a monster 71.8% of the total box office. That said it all—this was the standout horror flick of the moment!
Then, bam—trouble hit.
Just like West Cotton had warned.
The theater chains sent word: next week, Saw would scale up from 78 to 867 theaters, and Focus Features needed to ship the prints ASAP. A decent jump, sure, but nowhere near the 1,500 they'd hoped for.
The reason? Obvious.
Saw didn't get the expansion it deserved, while Miramax's old Hong Kong flick Drunken Master somehow scored a bigger rollout. Miramax—technically independent but a Disney subsidiary, under the thumb of Disney's production wing.
Dunn took the news calmly.
Saw was an indie flick, and Disney's clout leaned toward mainstream blockbusters. They didn't have much pull in indie distribution circles, but Miramax? They ruled that game. Dunn had refused to sell Chicago's rights to them, so of course Harvey Weinstein was pulling strings behind the scenes, flexing his connections to kneecap Saw's theater bump.
Still, 867 theaters wasn't terrible.
But Dunn wasn't swallowing this quietly.
"Harvey Weinstein? Miramax?" A cold smirk crept onto his face.
With Weinstein's industry juice, taking him down head-on was a tall order—unless Dunn went nuclear and leaked the "casting couch" and actress-coercion scandals through the press. But that'd torch Hollywood's image, and Dunn was too seasoned now to play that card. He'd bide his time. A guy like Weinstein would dig his own grave eventually.
For now, though?
"I love nothing more than screwing someone over, even if it doesn't help me one bit!"
Yup—Dunn never let a grudge slide!
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