Box Office - 'High School Musical,' 'Saw' Running Away with the Weekend

It's a battle of real heavyweights this weekend at the box office. In the blue corner: High School Musical 3. And in the red corner: Saw V. Though a lot of people expected a TKO in this fight, it might just be a unanimous decision instead.Dropping the boxing analogy, this is actually a much closer battle than we would've thought. And while High School Musical charged out of the gates with a near $17 million Friday, according to new Box Office Mojo estimates, Saw did really well for a fifth chapter, earning over $14 million in 600 fewer theaters. If you look at the per-screen averages, High School Musical is only out in front by a surprising low $53 a screen. Both films are absolute home runs with their target crowds, and both of them have already exceeded their production costs. Over the rest of the weekend, I think High School Musical will create some more space, probably earning at least $45 million, but Saw should easily cross $30 million, unless opening day drew all of the hardcore fans. That figure would be all the more impressive because of the dwindling numbers in the franchise's debuts over the previous two films.Since the rest of the top ten didn't make as much as Saw V combined, there's really nothing else to talk about. We'll have complete box office coverage tomorrow.