Though still playing in theaters for the time being, with PVOD release date scheduled for next week on June 1, Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures have announced that Spiral: From The Book of Saw will arrive exclusively on Starz on October 8. After all, if it’s Halloween, it must be Saw. In a statement (via THR), Starz president of domestic networks Alison Hoffman said: “Starz is excited to expand upon our recently announced theatrical output agreement with Lionsgate, bringing more premium content to our subscribers ahead of schedule with Spiral and the blockbuster Saw franchise.” Spiral: From The Book of Saw is now playing in theaters.
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Starring Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson, Spiral was delayed multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to date has brought in $21.4 million at the global box office, pushing the entire franchise totals for Saw over the $1 billion mark, a rare feat for a horror film franchise. Only four other horror franchises have managed to cross this threshold before Saw though including IT (2 movies, $1.17 billion), Resident Evil (6 movies, $1.229 billion), Alien (8 movies, $1.629 billion), and The Conjuring (7 movies, $1.904 billion). The third film in The Conjuring series premieres son though, potentially making it the first horror franchise to cross $2 billion total.
Though Spiral’s box office might seem paltry in comparison to the other entries in the franchise (it’s the lowest by about $40 million), but the film arrived as pandemic restrictions are still being rolled back and we can’t expect audience levels to be the same for a few more months. Even then the possibilities of the franchise have been opened up big time with Spiral, with franchise director Darren Lynn Bousman saying the connectivity could resemble Marvel in the future.
“I have found a renewed interest in the Saw universe,” Bousman said in a podcast interview on Bloody Disgusting. “I thought that it was played out, and I had done everything I could. Getting a chance to work with people like Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson has kind of reinvigorated my love for these type of stories and what can be done with them….So I think there’s a lot more to tell and a lot more I’d want to tell. Just because Spiral exists does not mean there will never be a Saw 9.”
He continues, “This is a diversion….This is a different path. You’re not done seeing Tobin Bell at all. What I think will happen, if this is successful, is you’ll see Spiral 2, and then you’ll see Saw 9. And then you’ll see Spiral 3, you’ll see Saw 10. You might see a TV series. So I think you’ll be seeing the MarvelVerse of the Saw franchise, where there are different storylines taking place. And I think that that’s what it’s going to be. It’ll exist in the same universe, and there will be different storylines taking place.”
