For the third straight year, the weekend before Halloween was ruled by a $30M+ opening from the Saw franchise proving that the horror series is still the top choice for those looking for a scare. While Saw IV debuted at number one with a brutal box office bow, the romantic dramedy Dan in Real Life starring Steve Carell opened impressively in second place and made for a popular counter-programming choice for those not interested in blood and gore. Overall, the North American box office came back to life as the top ten was about even with this same weekend in each of the last two years when by no coincidence earlier Saw installments reigned supreme.

Lionsgate's wildly successful fall movie slate welcomed another hit with Saw IV which topped the charts with an estimated $32.1M launch taking in more ticket sales than the next four films combined. It was the largest debut for any film since the comedy Superbad in mid-August, the best opening for any horror film this year, and proved that the distributor's highly profitable franchise was still a big hit with fans. Premiering in 3,183 theaters, the R-rated torturefest averaged a gruesome $10,088 per site. The performance was a bit below the $33.6M opening of Saw III from this weekend last year and ahead of the $31.7M start for Saw II in 2005. Those films reached $87M and $80.2M, respectively in the domestic market. As the fourth installment in a horror franchise, Saw IV should suffer rapid erosion in the weeks ahead, but a muscular final gross of $70-75M could still result.

Buena Vista delivered a strong start for its comedy-drama offering Dan in Real Life which bowed to an estimated $12.1M from 1,921 theaters for a solid $6,289 average per venue. The Steve Carell vehicle about a widower who falls for his brother's girlfriend posted impressive numbers given its moderately wide release and benefited from the studio's sneak previews last weekend which helped to spread word-of-mouth for a film that was not necessarily an easy sell. Critics had mixed feelings but were generally pleased with Dan.

With Saw IV stealing away the horror crowd, the vampire thriller 30 Days of Night fell sharply in its second weekend dropping 58% to third place with an estimated $6.7M. Sony's $30M fright flick has scared up $27.3M in ten days and looks headed for about a $40M finish.

Disney's family comedy The Game Plan enjoyed a great hold in its fifth frame sliding only 24% to an estimated $6.3M for a $77.1M cume. Lionsgate found itself in fifth with Why Did I Get Married? which grossed an estimated $5.7M, off 53%, giving the Tyler Perry hit $47.3M to date. So far this fall, the distributor has opened four films with debut averages of over $5,000 including two with averages north of $10,000.