The last time Halloween fell on a Friday in 2003, studios chose not to open any new wide releases at all that day. Disney had the weekend's only newcomer with the animated film Brother Bear which had been in limited release for a week and expanded nationwide on Saturday, November 1, for a stellar two-day weekend gross of $19.4M. Most holdover pictures saw their Friday grosses account for 21-24% of their full weekend tallies which was lower than the usual 28-32%. That year's top horror pic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre banked 33% of its three-day total on Halloween Friday and Saw V could follow the same path. That would give the Jigsaw flick about $9-10M for the weekend which puts it in a tough race for the number one slot for the whole frame.

Clint Eastwood's Changeling expanded nationally on Friday and was second for the day with an estimated $2.3M. The Angelina Jolie starrer is playing in only 1,850 locations and has a shot at being tops in both weekend gross and average in the top ten. The veteran director also had a film out in 2003 when Halloween last fell on a Friday - Mystic River. That pic earned stronger reviews (many felt it would have won the Oscar for Best Picture had it not been for the concluding chapter of The Lord of the Rings juggernaut that same year) and was already in wide release. Its Friday accounted for 22% of the weekend take. With Changeling being a new release in most of the country on Friday, its percentage should be a bit higher putting the weekend tally in the $9-10M range as well.

The new titles Zack and Miri Make a Porno and The Haunting of Molly Hartley opened on Friday with estimates of $2.2M and $1.7M, respectively. The Halloween effect should put their trajectories in question too, but weekend grosses could find their way to $8-9M for The Weinstein Co. comedy and $5-6M for the Freestyle Releasing horror pic.

Last weekend's top film, High School Musical 3 tumbled 89% from last Friday's explosive debut to an estimated $1.7M. The giant fall was expected given the massive upfront turnout last week and Halloween's impact on the target audience of young kids who would be more interested in trick-or-treating and stockpiling free candy. In 2003, the top kidpic was School of Rock which made only 17% of its weekend gross on Friday as sales shot back up on Saturday and Sunday. Look for a similar situation here. For the session, the Disney musical may find itself in the neighborhood of $9M making for a very tight race for the box office crown this weekend with multiple players in the running.

Be sure to check back on Sunday for the full weekend box office report.