Final “Saw” reclaims No. 1

The “Saw” franchise is back atop the box office for the first time since 2007 aka “Saw IV.” In 2008, “High School Musical 3” didn’t so much as give “Saw V” a chance and last year, “Paranormal Activity” bum-rushed the box office and held “Saw VI’s” opening weekend to below $15 million. This weekend, the “final chapter” was released in 3D a week after “Paranormal Activity 2” to the happy medium of $22.5 million.

1. Saw 3D – $22.5 M (weekend) … $22.5 (gross)
2. Paranormal Activity 2 – $16.5 M … $65.6 M
3. RED – $10.7 M … $58.8 M
4. Jackass 3D – $8.5 M … $101.6 M
5. Hereafter – $6.4 M … $22.2 M
6. Secretariat – $5 M … $44.7 M
7. The Social Network – $4.5 M … $79.5 M
8. Life as We Know It – $4 M … $43.5 M
9. The Town – $2.7 M  … $84.6 M
10. Conviction – $1.8 M … $2.4 M

“Paranormal Activity 2” dropped the expected 60 percent for horror and “Jackass 3-D” showed similar movement, dropping behind “RED,” which stayed above $10 million in its third week after opening with just $21 M. However, “Jackass” passed the $100 million mark, making it the only fall film to do so to this point.

The Fox Searchlight drama “Conviction,” starring Sam Rockwell and Hillary Swank, managed to sneak into the top ten in just 565 theaters. The film is about a brother and sister, the former of which is sentenced (allegedly innocently) to life in prison and the latter of which decides to go to law school solely to learn how to set him free.

The box office hit its first lull after two strong weeks, but expected a huge change with DreamWorks’ “Megamind” out next week alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis in “Hangover” director Todd Phillips’ comedy “Due Date.”