Saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mo ...

'' is an American horror

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...

created by Australian filmmakers

James Wan James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter and comic book writer. He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the ''Saw'' and ''Insidious'' franchises and the creator of The Conjurin ...

and

Leigh Whannell Leigh Whannell (; is an Australian screenwriter, actor, film producer, and film director. He is best known for writing films directed by his friend James Wan, including ''Saw'' (2004), ''Dead Silence'' (2007), ''Insidious'' (2010), and '' Insid ...

and distributed by

Lions Gate Entertainment Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered in ...

and

Twisted Pictures Twisted Pictures is an American production company and a division of Evolution Entertainment that specializes in horror and thriller movies. The company was founded by Evolution's Mark Burg, Oren Koules, and Gregg Hoffman in 2004. The company i ...

. The films take place in a

fictional universe A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...

that revolves around a serial killer, dubbed The Jigsaw Killer, who captures victims who he believes do not appreciate their life and puts them into traps to test their survival instinct. While starting as a film series, ''Saw'' has evolved to encompass numerous media forms including video games and comics as well as mazes and a roller coaster. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in October 2009, including international sales and revenue from DVDs, television and merchandise, the ''Saw'' series has taken in more than $1 billion, making it one of the highest-grossing horror franchises in history. This comprises over 28 million DVDs sold and $665 million worth of ticket sales for the first five films alone, along with various other merchandise. On July 23, 2010, the franchise was recognized by the

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as the "Most Successful Horror Movie Series". The series debuted on October 29, 2004 with ''

''. The film was met with much financial success, which allowed the sequel, ''

Saw II ''Saw II'' is a 2005 horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by Leigh Whannell and Bousman. It is the sequel to 2004's ''Saw'' and the second installment in the ''Saw'' film series. The film stars Donnie Wahlberg, Franky G, Gl ...

'', to be created and released a year later. Subsequent sequels were released a year after the previous film, all on the Friday before

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

. Nine films have been made in the franchise. The success of the films has influenced such products as '' Saw: The Video Game'', which was published by

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

in 2009 and released before the sixth film. Other products include a comic book, ''Saw: Rebirth'', which was released before the second film. The most recent products released were a second video game, which released in October 2010 and ninth film, which released in May 2021.

Films

Short film

Other media

Video games

Printed

Merchandise

Digital art

References

External links

*
Official ''V'' website

Official ''VI'' websiteThorpe Park – home to three SAW attractions
{{Saw