Chris Rock & Samuel L. Jackson's "Saw" Spin-Off "Spiral" Tops Box Office

Wanna play a game?

Source: Lionsgate Studios

After 8 twisted chapters in the sinister “Saw” series, the popular Horror franchise made its long-awaited return with Chris Rock as the star of “Spiral“–a gory spin-off that topped the weekend box office with $8.7 million at a dicey time for mostly empty theaters.

“Spiral” follows Detective Zeke Banks (Chris Rock) on the hunt for a killer targeting officers in a corrupt police department. Samuel L. Jackson co-stars as his father, a former police chief, and Max Minghella plays his rookie partner.

In an interview with the LA Times, Rock revealed that “Spiral” started with a Tyler Perry joke he made in semi-autobiographical satire “Top Five.”

“I played an actor much like myself who’s got a movie coming out. And it’s going up against a Tyler Perry movie called ‘Boo,’” Rock recalled. “Of course we lose out to ‘Boo’ in the movie but the thing is, I totally made up ‘Boo.’ I made up the artwork and it’s all my idea.”

Lionsgate loved the idea and greenlit “Boo! A Madea Halloween” and “Boo! 2” back to back in 2016 and 2017.

“They made two ‘Boos,’” Rock says. “They even used the same artwork! Under most circumstances, people find ways to give you a check when you come up with something.”

Fast-forward to Rock bumping into the studio’s vice chairman Michael Burns at a wedding where he pitched the idea for “Spiral.”

“And I was like, ‘While I’ve got you here, I was just going down the list of Lionsgate properties like, Hmm, “Hunger Games?” Nothing there for me. Hey, what about “Saw?” Have you ever thought about inserting humor into “Saw?”’ It’s one of those things where you don’t know when you’re being heard, but I was.”

Three weeks later, studio executives met with Rock and veteran “Saw” co-producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules.

“A lot of the meeting was convincing them that I didn’t want to make ‘Scary Movie,’” says the comedian.

“I didn’t want to make a broad comedy. I thought [something more] like ’48 Hours’ where you could get laughs and be scared at the same time. And they kind of went for it and here we are.”

Peep the opening scene and unboxing of a real-life “Saw” game below:

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