The total fell well short of expectations, which started out modest but ballooned after strong pre-sales and a $7.4 million Wednesday haul. It seemed most theatergoers itching to see the late King of Pop do his thing one more time showed up on opening day though; Thursday numbers fell to only $3.7 million. The doc did gross $68.5 million in foreign ticket sales however, which brings its 5-day worldwide total to an impressive $101 million. Though This Is It wasn't able to top the single day or opening weekend figures of Hannah Montana: Best of Both Worlds, its worldwide sales have already topped the Disney pop princess' lifetime tally to become the "biggest concert movie of all time" that it was promised to be.

Paranormal Activity continued its strong run, finishing second with $16.5 million. Its total sits at a lofty $84.8 million after 6 weeks. Saw VI meanwhile continued to disappoint, bleeding out to 5th place with $5.6 million for a $22.8 million two-week total. Rounding out the top 5 was Law Abiding Citizen in 3rd with $7.3 million and Couples Retreat in 4th with $6.1 million.]]>

Michael Jackson’s concert documentary This Is It won the top spot at the box office, grossing an estimated $21.3 million over the weekend to bring its five-day total to $32.5 million.

The total fell well short of expectations, which started out modest but ballooned after strong pre-sales and a $7.4 million Wednesday haul. It seemed most theatergoers itching to see the late King of Pop do his thing one more time showed up on opening day though; Thursday numbers fell to only $3.7 million. The doc did gross $68.5 million in foreign ticket sales however, which brings its 5-day worldwide total to an impressive $101 million. Though This Is It wasn’t able to top the single day or opening weekend figures of Hannah Montana: Best of Both Worlds, its worldwide sales have already topped the Disney pop princess’ lifetime tally to become the “biggest concert movie of all time” that it was promised to be.

Paranormal Activity continued its strong run, finishing second with $16.5 million. Its total sits at a lofty $84.8 million after 6 weeks. Saw VI meanwhile continued to disappoint, bleeding out to 5th place with $5.6 million for a $22.8 million two-week total. Rounding out the top 5 was Law Abiding Citizen in 3rd with $7.3 million and Couples Retreat in 4th with $6.1 million.

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day opened in the specialty market to the tune of $462,000 in 68 venues, or a so-so $6,794 per-theater average. It goes wide starting on November 13.

Next weekend will be a crowded market as four new films come to the box office. Richard Kelly’s horror thriller The Box, Robert Zemeckis’ motion-captured A Christmas Carol, the based-on-a-true-story alien abduction thriller The Fourth Kind, and George Clooney comedy The Men Who Stare At Goats all will hit theaters. Jim Carrey and a family-friendly classic should be enough to vault A Christmas Carol to the top of that pack, though where the other three finish will be tough to call. I’ll say The Box wins some intrigue points to finish second, while Men Who Stare At Goats will come in third. I feel like The Fourth Kind’s audience has largely had their docu-horror dose this year with Paranormal Activity, so it will probably finish last among the new releases. As for the specialty market, the Sundance darling Precious goes into limited release. The record remains at 48 for 60.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

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.]]>

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