Dimension Films''Scary Movie 4' opened in 3,505 theaters in North America, grossing $49.7 million on its opening weekend, taking the number one spot at the box office.
Meanwhile, Capet Pictures' 'saw' opened in 2,310 theaters in North America, grossing $18.3 million on its opening weekend, ranking third at the box office.
The second spot went to a Disney animated film.
In its second weekend,'Scary Movie 3' took in $21.1 million in North America, a % drop;
'saw' took in $11.1 million in its second weekend, a % drop.
No one was surprised by the success of'Scary Movie 3'; a North American gross of over $100 million was a certainty.
However, the low-budget film 'saw' achieving $35.4 million in just ten days was undoubtedly a huge success.
The Hollywood Reporter: A morbid and insane killer, various bizarre and terrifying methods of murder, and a profound central theme, all contributed to James Wan's outstanding debut.
Empire: Bloody and cruel, yet irresistibly captivating.
San Francisco Evening Post: Crazy and sickening killing methods.
"Pop!" James Wan uncorked a bottle of champagne, spraying it around.
At a bar in West Hollywood, Charles Capet had specially booked it for the cast and many company employees to celebrate.
"Charles, Universal wants to develop 'wedding crashers' and 'mr. & mrs. smith' together!" Henry Winster, beside him, couldn't contain his excitement.
"As expected," Charles Capet shook his head, though it was understandable, and he reminded him,
"The sequel to 'saw' needs to be prepared as soon as possible, to be released again next Halloween. I want the 'saw' series to become a unique spectacle every Halloween!"
Capet Pictures was celebrating, but 'saw' made many film companies specializing in horror and thriller genres uneasy.
Hollywood doesn't imitate? That's completely wrong; Hollywood's imitation is equally unrestrained.
Miramax, as the king of independent film distribution companies, has distributed many high-art films since the Weinstein Brothers founded it.
Founded in the late 1970s, it was acquired by Disney in 1993 for $83 million, becoming Disney's independent art-house label.
Over the past decade, Miramax has indeed released many good films for Disney, but there have certainly been more money-losing duds.
Last year was a bumper year for Miramax, but it had suffered three consecutive years of losses before that.
'The English Patient,' 'Chicago,''Shakespeare in Love,' and 'the hours' were all highlights.
However, Miramax's unrestrained nature also diverged greatly from Disney's brand. Investing in and distributing the religiously themed LGBTQ+ film 'Priest' and the highly controversial religious film 'Dogma' both went against Disney's image.
The $80 million investment in 'cold mountain' was pushed through against Disney's objections, and the bloody violence of 'Kill Bill' severely impacted Disney's family-friendly image.
Now, Miramax also wants to distribute a political documentary like 'fahrenheit 9,' and Disney has issued a direct ultimatum: absolutely not allowed.
Harvey Weinstein, a portly man, was just walking out of the lounge, pulling up his pants, with his disheveled female office assistant following him, still somewhat startled.
Harvey Weinstein then sat on the sofa, pulling the company's female assistant onto his lap. "Darling, tomorrow I'll promote you to full assistant. You'll learn how much better it is than being an intern assistant."
"Now, go home and get some good sleep!"
The young female assistant, who had been working for less than a month, walked out of the company somewhat bewildered.
Harvey Weinstein lit a cigar, completely unconcerned about what had just happened. Not to mention whether young people could resist temptation, even if something did happen, his lawyers would handle it.
He had only taken two puffs when Harvey's brother, Bob Weinstein, entered. He was well aware of what had happened with the female assistant he had just encountered.
However, he didn't care about such things; all he wanted was to make money. "Harvey, Michael Eisner has issued a death order: Miramax absolutely cannot distribute 'fahrenheit 9'!"
"F***, Disney says no to this, no to that. What are we supposed to distribute?" The conflict between Harvey Weinstein and Michael Eisner was escalating.
"Harvey, give up. You know what kind of documentary 'fahrenheit 9' is, and you know why Michael Moore wants to release it next year, don't you?"
"How could Disney possibly allow the distribution of such a politically controversial documentary, especially one targeting the current occupant of the White House?"
Next year is a presidential election year; the reason for releasing 'fahrenheit 9' is too obvious, and the White House occupant is only in his first term!
Do they still want the tax exemption for Disneyland in Florida? Is the Disney brand important or not?
Miramax has already delved into bloody violence and religious taboos. If they get involved in political sensitivity again, Disney will truly be enraged.
Michael Eisner is not someone the Weinstein Brothers can afford to provoke.
"Phew," Harvey Weinstein exhaled a puff of smoke fiercely, saying bitterly, "I only sponsored him to make the documentary in a private capacity, it shouldn't matter, right!"
Bob Weinstein sighed, changing the subject. "Have you seen 'saw,' distributed by Rogue Pictures?"
"I've been following it. Such a low-budget production yielding such high box office numbers is a great success!"
Bob Weinstein nodded. "You should pay attention to Capet Pictures. From 'my big fat greek wedding' onwards, their film production budgets aren't high, but their box office returns are always high!"
Harvey Weinstein also nodded; he had actually been following it and even thought about collaborating, but hadn't found an opportunity.
"That young man is good. Miramax can definitely collaborate with him," Harvey Weinstein certainly couldn't ignore it.
Bob shook his head. "Universal signed a three-film distribution agreement with him. 'saw' and next year's 'brokeback mountain' are being handled by Focus Features."
"I heard there's a commercial blockbuster with a budget over $100 million that Charles Capet is working on. Universal hasn't greenlit it before, but now..."
Bob didn't need to say more; Harvey understood. Capet Pictures now had other options. If Universal didn't want it, other companies would certainly choose it.
With three or four consecutive successful films, Charles Capet now had the leverage to fight for status and benefits. After all, 'lost in translation' and 'saw' were clearly films he had personally invested in and produced.
"Look, a young producer who just entered Hollywood, after making a few low-budget films, now wants to develop a commercial blockbuster with a budget over $100 million. How much film experience do we have? Michael Eisner always says our film budgets are too large and keeps cutting them again and again," Harvey was angry, angry at Disney, angry at Disney's chairman and ceo, the monarch of Disney, Michael Eisner.