Jigsaw’s games will never end. After the critical and box office success of “Saw X” this fall, Lionsgate has announced that “Saw XI” will be released in theaters on Sept. 27, 2024.
The eleventh installment of the gory horror series will hit theaters roughly one month before the 20th anniversary of the release of the first “Saw” back in October 2004.
The next installment was announced via the “Saw” Instagram page, with a picture of Roman numrtsld proclaiming the release date with the “XI” for 11 highlighted in red, along with the caption, “The game continues.”
“Saw X” marked the return of Tobin Bell and his character, John “Jigsaw” Kramer, to the center of the franchise. Bell had played Kramer in flashback scenes after he was killed off at the end of “Saw III” back in 2006. But the setting of “Saw X” prior to that death allowed him to return to the fore, administering his sadistic tests to a group of con artists that pretended to cure him of his cancer with a phony medical procedure.
While the “Saw” films have historically been rejected by critics, “Saw X” was embraced by a new generation of reviewers who praised the film for showing a new side to Jigsaw and how far he was willing to go to uphold his twisted moral code. The film earned an 80% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, by far the highest ever for the franchise, and the film grossed $107 million at the global box office against a $10 million budget.
“Saw XI” will be a welcome addition to theaters, which are facing a rough 2024 box office after Hollywood’s double strike forced production delays that have depleted the upcoming release slate. The Sept. 27 release slot is currently empty, save for a placeholder slot held by Universal for an untitled film from Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw production company — though that will likely be pulled now that “Saw XI” has moved in.
The week after, “Saw XI” will face stiff R-rated competition from Warner Bros.’ “Joker: Folie a Deux,” the sequel to the highest-grossing R-rated film in box office history. But “Joker 2” will be a dark, comic-inspired drama rather than a horror film, so Lionsgate will likely still have a shot for some box office success with this tried-and-true Halloween franchise offering.
