Unrated ‘Saw’ Coming to Theaters For The First Time

Domestic audiences are still saying his name three times as Beetlejuice Beetlejuice lands atop the box office chart taking in $51 million over the weekend. But hold on, Blumhouse made a surprise return to the top tier with Speak No Evil at number two, bringing in $11 million.

The James McAvoy thriller had a reputation that preceded it since many people thought it was an unnecessary remake of the 2022 Netherlands original. But the internet spoke and, by its divine hand and word-of-mouth, gave it a collective thumbs up. CinemaScore has it graded at a B+, a good omen for a wide-release horror movie. Deadpool & Wolverine made $5.2 million, dropping 26%.

The remaining box-office tally is thought-provoking for those paying attention. Four — four — of the top 10 films this week are conservative (read faith-based) titles. It’s something to consider since it is becoming a trend and a successful one at that.

The first is Matt Walsh: Am I Racist? coming in at number four with $4.7 million, Reagan took $2.9 million at number five.

After that, the mainstream titles six, seven, and eight were as follows: The Killer’s Game $2.6 million, Alien: Romulus $2.4 million, and It Ends With Us $2 million.

Rounding out the top 10 the conservative titles continued with The Forge at number nine with $42 Million and God’s Not Dead garnering $1.4 million on its debut.

Am I Racist was produced by The Daily Wire, a conservative media company, Reagan was produced by like-minded MJM Entertainment, The Forge was released by Sony, but produced by faith-based Affirm Films, and finally God’s Not Dead by Pure Flix; an evangelical Christian company.

Conservative and Christian media isn’t a new concept at the mainstream Cineplex: Sound of Freedom (2023) was a massive hit (thanks to ticket “donations”), and this year’s Hillary Swank heartwarmer Ordinary Angels has a 99% audience score at Rotten Tomatoes.

The trend is one to watch for in the upcoming months. It might be a long time before we see these types of films consume prime screens upon release, but companies like Fathom Events, who rent theaters for their releases might become a trend among conservative filmmakers too.