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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. Read»
Spike Jonze’s Where The Wild Things Are took over the box office this past weekend, grossing an estimated $32.5 million for the top spot in its much-anticipated debut.
The total was a little shy of ambitious estimates after a surprisingly strong Friday and Saturday, but nonetheless is still a strong bow for Warner Bros. It was an uncharacteristically active weekend, with three different films crossing the $20 million mark. You have to go all the way back to 2004’s Shark Tale to find the last time a film managed that in this frame.
Law Abiding Citizen opened at number 2 with $21.3 million, but once again it was Paranormal Activity that comes away with the most impressive victory. Expanding to 760 theaters, the ultra low-budget horror film pulled in $20.2 million for the number 3 spot, or a staggering $26,530 per-theater average in its fourth weekend of release. Couples Retreat held on to fourth place with $17.9 million over its second weekend, and The Stepfather opened in 5th place with a so-so $12.3 million. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, meanwhile, crossed the $100 million mark with an $8.1 million weekend, bringing its total to $108.3 million. Read»
Vince Vaughn still knows how to attract a crowd. His new comedy Couples Retreat pulled in a record-setting $34.3 million at the box office to come in at number one over the weekend, becoming the highest grossing Columbus Day weekend opener ever.
Paranormal Activity, which has been getting all sorts of buzz thanks to a strong marketing campaign and Paramount’s “demand it!” release scheme, expanded to 160 theaters and absolutely packed the houses. It pulled in $7.9 million for the number 4 spot, which is an astounding $49,379 per-theater average, especially considering the number of screens it played. It set the record for highest grossing movie playing at under 200 theaters, and don’t be surprised to see the micro-budgeted horror film expand to even more venues soon to scare up even more dollars.
Zombieland held over well from last weekend, dropping to number 2 with $14.8 million. Its $47.6 million total is already spawning talks about a possible sequel, as well as close to making it the highest grossing zombie movie ever (2004’s Dawn of the Dead currently holds the title with $59 million). Meanwhile, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is still holding on strong, finishing third with $11.5 million in its fourth weekend of release. Toy Story / Toy Story 2 3D rounded out the top 5 with $7.8 million. Read»
Zombieland proved the horror comedy is alive and well, pulling in an estimated $25 million over the weekend to land in the number one spot at the box office.
Ruben Flesicher’s flick won audiences over with healthy helpings of gory action and side-splitting laughs, surpassing its modest $23.6 million production budget in its debut weekend. Meanwhile, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs stayed strong and showed few signs of slowing down, pulling in another $16.7 million for the #2 spot and bringing its total to over $82 million in its third weekend of release. Despite Cloudy’s momentum, the re-issue/double-billing of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D was still able to draw a crowd, grossing $12.5 million and coming in 3rd for the weekend.
New release The Invention of Lying was only able to manage a modest $7.3 million take, good enough for fourth place. Still, it was an improvement from Ricky Gervais’ last outing Ghost Town, which managed only $13.4 million in its entire run. Read»
From would-be spies to baring your junk, this week’s WIR has it all! Read»
Charming new trailer from the ensemble comedy starring a whole bunch of people you know and love. Read»
Check out Universal’s 2009 preview, which includes Public Enemies, Fast & Furious, and The Wolf Man. Read»
