PARANORMAL ACTIVITY Tops SAW VI At The Box Office
Well, it looks like the Saw franchise’s reign of horror has lost a bit of its foothold in the late October box office. Micro-budgeted Paranormal Activity continued to steamroll the competition in theaters, finally taking the top spot in its fifth weekend of release with an estimated $22 million.
That brings Paranormal’s total to a hefty $62.5 million. To put that into perspective, that’s over 4000 times more than the $15,000 it cost to make. Ridiculous. Saw VI pulled in a not-disgusting $14.8 million in its 2nd place debut, but that’s less than half of what Saw V made in its bow last year in the same frame. Lionsgate execs probably paled visibly today after hearing that Paramount is considering a Paranormal Activity 2 (which, for the record, is probably about as good an idea as Blair Witch 2 was). As tired as I am of Jigsaw, I can at least see why the Saw formula works in a franchise. There’s a certain novelty to Paranormal Activity that I’m not sure can be captured in a sequel.
Meanwhile, Where the Wild Things Are, last week’s number 1, plummeted 56% to 3rd with a $14.4 million haul. It’s $54 million total is still well shy of its $100 million budget. Law Abiding Citizen dropped to 4th with $12.7 million, and Couples Retreat rounded out the top 5 with an $11.1 million weekend.
The other new wide releases all fared rather dismally, particularly Astro Boy. The animated flick only managed to gross $7 million in its 6th place bow, while Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant bombed in 8th place with $6.3 million. Amelia, which only opened in 818 theaters, pulled in an unspectacular $4 million.
In the specialty market, Lars von Trier’s Antichrist opened with $73,500 in 6 theaters, or a $12,250 average. Uma Thurman’s latest comedy Motherhood bowed in 48 venues with $57,700, or a $1,202 per-theater average.
Next week, the lone wide opener will be the highly-anticipated doc This Is It, which covers the behind-the-scenes and rehearsals of Michael Jackson’s London concert tour. Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day also opens in limited release, hitting in 65 theaters around the country. The record stands at 48 for 60.
Check out the top 12 below, or head over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:
New releases highlighted in yellow
| TW | LW | Title (click to view) | Studio | Weekend Gross | % Change | Theater Count / Change | Average | Total Gross | Budget* | Week # | |
| 1 | 3 | Paranormal Activity | Par. | $22,000,000 | +12.1% | 1,945 | +1,185 | $11,311 | $62,477,000 | $0.015 | 5 |
| 2 | N | Saw VI | LGF | $14,800,000 | - | 3,036 | - | $4,875 | $14,800,000 | $11 | 1 |
| 3 | 1 | Where the Wild Things Are | WB | $14,420,000 | -55.9% | 3,735 | - | $3,861 | $53,960,000 | $100 | 2 |
| 4 | 2 | Law Abiding Citizen | Over. | $12,713,000 | -39.6% | 2,890 | - | $4,399 | $40,318,000 | $50 | 2 |
| 5 | 4 | Couples Retreat | Uni. | $11,097,000 | -35.6% | 3,074 | +65 | $3,610 | $78,213,000 | $70 | 3 |
| 6 | N | Astro Boy | Sum. | $7,017,000 | - | 3,014 | - | $2,328 | $7,017,000 | $65 | 1 |
| 7 | 5 | The Stepfather (2009) | SGem | $6,500,000 | -43.9% | 2,734 | - | $2,377 | $20,352,000 | $20 | 2 |
| 8 | N | Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant | Uni. | $6,348,000 | - | 2,754 | - | $2,305 | $6,348,000 | $40 | 1 |
| 9 | 6 | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | Sony | $5,600,000 | -30.2% | 2,741 | -296 | $2,043 | $115,204,000 | $100 | 6 |
| 10 | 7 | Zombieland | Sony | $4,300,000 | -43.5% | 2,447 | -724 | $1,757 | $67,308,000 | $23.6 | 4 |
| 11 | N | Amelia | FoxS | $4,025,000 | - | 818 | - | $4,921 | $4,025,000 | $40 | 1 |
| 12 | 15 | A Serious Man | Focus | $1,129,000 | +34.0% | 176 | +94 | $6,415 | $3,232,000 | - | 4 |
Tags: Amelia, Antichrist, Astro Boy, Boondock Saints 2, Box Office, Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, Couples Retreat, Law Abiding Citizen, Motherhood, Paranormal Activity, Paranormal Activity 2, Saw VI, This Is It, Where The Wild Things Are
