Betsy Russell stars in Saw IV

The newest film in the torture-horror franchise beat family comedy Dan in Real Life, starring Steve Carrell, into a distant second place.

Last week's top film, vampire flick 30 Days of Night, held up for third in the rankings, bringing in $6.7m (�3.3m).

A 3-D re-release of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas took the 10th spot with $3.4m (�1.7m).

NORTH AMERICAN BOX OFFICE 1. Saw IV - $32.1m (�15.6m) 2. Dan in Real Life - $12.1m (�5.9m) 3. 30 Days of Night - $6.7m (�3.3m) 4. The Game Plan - $6.3m (�3.1m) 5. Why Did I Get Married? - $5.7m (�2.8m) 6. Michael Clayton - $5m (�2.4m) 7. Gone Baby Gone - $3.9m (�1.9m) 8. The Comebacks - $3.45m (�1.7m) 9. We Own the Night - $3.4.m (�1.65m) 10. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas - $3.35m (�1.62m) Source: Media by Numbers

The results for Saw IV were on par with the debut of Saw III, which pulled in $33.6 million (�16.3m) over the same weekend last year.

Since the original low-budget Saw became an out-of-nowhere fright sensation in 2004, Lionsgate has released a new chapter each October.

"I would expect to see Saw V next year, Saw VI the year after that and Saw VII the following year if they can keep it up," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

"There's just something inherently gruesome and compelling about these movies. I don't know what that says about society in general, but it certainly works at the box office." he said.