The Saw franchise, which has been churning out annual entries since kicking off in 2004, introduced a new twist to the latest October entry. That visual element, plus a calendar shift, helped Saw 3D take first place over the holiday weekend.

Despite the $22.5 million debut, Saw 3D – the seventh and final film in the series – didn’t exactly end the series with a bloody bang. The horror flick had the fifth-best open in the entire franchise -- and that's including the higher ticket prices. (Only the 2004 original and 2009’s Saw VI – which was pitted directly against Paranormal Activity – did worse.)

1. Saw 3D, Lionsgate, $22,530,123 (avg. $8024)
2. Paranormal Activity 2, Paramount, $16,508,107 (avg. $5097)
3. Red, Summit Entertainment, $10,729,636 (avg. $3204)
4. Jackass 3D, Paramount, $8,504,163 (avg. $2709)
5. Hereafter, Warner Bros., $6,422,327 (avg. $2649)
6. Secretariat, Disney, $5,005,657 (avg. $1611)
7. The Social Network, Sony, $4,515,105 (avg. $1632)
8. Life as We Know It, Warner Bros., $4,055,473 (avg. $1418)
9. The Town, Warner Bros., $1,975,260 (avg. $1228)
10. Conviction, Fox Searchlight, $1,831,111 (avg. $3241)

(You can review last week's numbers here.)