Lions Gate charged into theaters on Friday and hacked up a bloody $12.3M in opening day ticket sales for its horror sequel Saw II, according to estimates. The figure was up a sensational 79% from the $6.9M first-day take of the original Saw from one year ago this frame. For the Friday-to-Sunday span, look for a stunning $30-32M opening weekend gross.

Adventure seekers spent an estimated $5.5M on the opening day of The Legend of Zorro which was another sequel launching on Friday. The gross was down 26% from the $7.4M first day tally of 1998's summer hit The Mask of Zorro which played in a thousand fewer theaters. For the weekend, Sony's family-friendly actioner may collect $17-20M.

More modest numbers resulted for the weekend's two other new wide releases hitting theaters on Friday. Universal's Prime bowed to an estimated $2.2M while Paramount's The Weather Man premiered to an estimated $1.4M. Weekend tallies should reach about $6-7M for the Meryl Streep-Uma Thurman pic and roughly $4M for the Nicolas Cage flick.

Among holdovers, Friday-to-Friday declines were a horrific 79% for Doom, an encouraging 35% for Dreamer, and a moderate 41% for North Country.

The top ten films combined for an estimated $28.6M on Friday representing a 6% dip versus a year ago when The Grudge remained in first with $7.7M on its way to a $21.8M sophomore weekend.

For a NEW review of Saw II, visit The Chief Report. Also, read the review of the South Park - The Complete Sixth Season DVD set.

Last Updated: October 29, 2005 at 5:15PM EST

Written by Gitesh Pandya