Saw IV

Ridley Scott's gritty gangster drama easily took first place at the box office this past weekend, making American Gangster's opening weekend the highest-grossing for any R-rated crime drama in history. The film brought in a mighty $46.3 million over the weekend.

In second place was Seinfeld's Bee Movie, which also raked in an impressive amount: just over $39 million. Saw IV continued its reign of terror in third place, bringing in $11 million, while Dan in Real Life followed closely behind. 30 Days of Night rounded out the box office top five with $4 million.

This weekend Christmas comes early with Fred Claus. There will also be the Coen Bros. Western No Country for Old Men and the Robert Redford political drama Lions for Lambs opening nationwide.

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• Saw IV took the top place at the box office this weekend, followed by Dan in Real Life and 30 Days of Night. Guess that means Saw V is unavoidable — BuzzSugar
• Oprah tearfully apologized to the parents of students in her South African girls school after allegations of abuse against teachers and administrators. Hopefully the school will recover from this scandal and continue to bring education to the girls who need it. — South Africa News 24
• Natalie Portman had a hard time getting a table at a top NYC restaurant even when she flashed her cute smile and asked them "Are you sure?" Apparently they couldn't totally resist and made some room for her and her boyfriend at the lounge. — Page Six
• Michelle Williams is apparently thinking of leaving Brooklyn for Manhattan, as Heath Ledger has already done, because her townhouse is too big for her and Matilda alone. A fresh start is probably what's best for both of them. — Page Six
• Another woman has spoken out about David Copperfield's "creepy" attempt to hit on her during one of his performances. Now would probably be a good time to perfect his disappearing act. — TMZ

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I would make some kind of "Saw IV slaughtered the competition!" pun here but I'm just not in the mood after hearing that this fourth installment of the Saw series took the No. 1 spot at the box office this weekend. The horror flick drew in an impressive $32 million, significantly more than the No. 2 movie, Dan in Real Life. Surely the proximity to Halloween helped get people in the theaters for Saw, but I'm still a little surprised by this. Most surprisingly, however, is that more women than men were in the audiences for Saw. Interesting, to say the least.

At No. 3 was 30 Days of Night, while The Game Plan continued to score big time at No. 4. Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? took fifth place, bumping Michael Clayton out of the top five.

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

Well it's September, folks, and the summertime movie season is officially over. Now we have a whole new crop of films to check out in the coming chillier months, so in preparation for that, I'm giving you little glimpses of this fall and winter's must-see movies with my Fall Movie Preview series. Today I'm bringing you three titles from the bloody, fright-filled horror genre.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
In this film version of the stage musical, Johnny Depp plays Sweeney Todd, a barber who is wrongfully imprisoned and seeks revenge on the judge (played by Alan Rickman) who sentenced him. Tim Burton directs (naturally) while Sacha Baron Cohen and the ever-commanding Helena Bonham Carter also star. Sweeney Todd's story begins with these ominous words: "Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd./His skin was pale and his eye was odd./He shaved the faces of gentlemen/Who never thereafter were heard of again." The movie, of which some parts were rumored to be cut because they were too gruesome, opens this Christmas.

For two more horrifying titles, read more