Crazed killer Jigsaw has been done in by a bunch of singing and dancing teens.

Disney's "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" hoofed its way to the top of the weekend box office class with $42 million, while Lionsgate's horror sequel "Saw V" had to settle for second place with $30.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

A big-screen sequel to the Disney Channel TV movies, "High School Musical 3" had a record opening for a song-and-dance flick, easily beating the previous best of $27.8 million, set last summer by "Mamma Mia!"

"High School Musical 3" and "Saw V" combined to send Hollywood revenues soaring. The top 12 movies took in $120.5 million, up 41 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Saw IV" led the weekend with a $31.8 million debut.

"It was good vs. evil at the box office, and both won," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Media By Numbers. "That combination of a G-rated and an R-rated movie, both chasing completely different audiences, proved to be a huge success."

"Saw V" pulled in about the same amount of cash over opening weekend as the last three flicks in the franchise about the diabolical Jigsaw, but it was the first that failed to finish at No. 1 since the original "Saw" debuted in third place in 2004.

The horror crowd was simply outnumbered by young fans and their parents turning up to see how senior year played out for the "High School Musical" cast led by Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel and Corbin Bleu.

Mark Zoradi, president of Disney's motion-picture group, said the continuing story of lovebirds Troy and Gabriella played largely to the TV audience of young girls, though the big-screen version also broadened the "High School Musical" fan base.

"There's no question there's a female skew to it and a family skew to it," Zoradi said. "The movie is working not only to that core preteen audience, but also aging up a little bit and also bringing in some boys."

"High School Musical 3" also pulled in $40 million in 19 other countries where it has opened, among them Great Britain, Germany and Spain.

The weekend's other new wide release, the Warner Bros. police saga "Pride and Glory," opened weakly with $6.3 million to come in at No. 5. "Pride and Glory" stars Edward Norton and Colin Farrell in a tale of corruption among a family of New York City cops.

The previous weekend's No. 1 flick, 20th Century Fox's action tale "Max Payne," fell to third place with $7.6 million, raising its 10-day total to $29.7 million.

Clint Eastwood's "Changeling," starring Angelina Jolie as a single mom tormented by police handling the investigation of her missing son, got off to a healthy start with $502,000 in limited release. It played in 15 theaters to averaged a strong $33,441 a cinema, compared to $11,593 in 3,623 theaters for "High School Musical 3." Distributor Universal expands "Changeling" into nationwide release Friday.

Also in limited release, Sony Pictures Classics' "Synecdoche, New York" had a solid opening of $172,926 in nine theaters, averaging $19,214. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a writer staging a mammoth theater production that fills warehouses, and the directing debut of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman ("Being John Malkovich").

This Wk Last Wk Title Dist. Weekend Gross Cumulative
Gross Rlse
Wks # of
Theaters
1 - High School Musical 3: Senior Year Buena Vista Pictures Distribution $42,000,000 $42,000,000 1 3623
2 - Saw V Lionsgate $30,500,000 $30,500,000 1 3060
3 1 Max Payne 20th Century Fox Distribution $7,600,000 $29,664,000 2 3381
4 2 Beverly Hills Chihuahua Buena Vista Pictures Distribution $6,916,000 $78,142,000 4 3190
5 - Pride and Glory Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $6,325,000 $6,325,000 1 2585
6 3 The Secret Life of Bees Fox Searchlight Pictures $5,935,000 $19,208,000 2 1630
7 4 W. Lionsgate $5,330,000 $18,749,000 2 2050
8 5 Eagle Eye Paramount Pictures $5,136,000 $87,987,000 5 2558
9 6 Body of Lies Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $4,065,000 $30,890,000 3 2150
10 7 Quarantine Sony Pictures Releasing $2,550,000 $28,770,000 3 2228
11 11 Fireproof Samuel Goldwyn Films, Affirm Films $2,137,000 $23,610,000 5 898
12 8 Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist Sony Pictures Releasing $2,000,000 $29,522,000 4 1571

we can't forget all of the underage horror fans who bought HSM3 tickets and snuck into SAW ;)

Never underestimate the power of tweens and middle-schoolers.

Wow those kids are loaded, who knew HSM would be such a hit.

the thing I don't get about HSM3 is why it's still G-rated when it's in the theaters. Considering South Park and The Simpsons on the big screen actually did things in the movies they can't get away with on television (SATC was on HBO, so the nudity existed already), yet HSM3 was still G? They could've turned it PG-13 easily since it was a theatrical release and not a TV movie.

I am surprised it did so well to be truthful. HSM3 is the type of thing that you might secretly enjoy on television but not boast to your friends about liking and certainly would not be caught dead going up to a ticket counter and buying a ticket to see unless you have a little niece or cousin to take and pretend to be a "chaperone" to see (I know someone who used his little cousin as an excuse to see it). I am surprised so many people bought tickets without shame since it's total guilty pleasure IMO, and not in the Mamma Mia sense where a lot of people who love ABBA meet up and sing along to the songs with.

*puke*