'Paranormal' tops weekend box office receipts

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Fear has taken hold at the box office with a $41.5 million debut for scary movie "Paranormal Activity 2," according to studio estimates Sunday.

Paramount Pictures' follow-up to last year's micro-budgeted hit "Paranormal Activity" got a jump on Halloween as fans packed theaters for another documentary-style thriller about a household plagued by a menacing spirit.

"Paranormal Activity 2" did nearly half its business on Friday, following the pattern of many fright-flick franchises, which often draw big crowds on opening day then drop off sharply. The movie took in $20.1 million Friday, with receipts falling to $13 million Saturday and $8.4 million Sunday.

The first "Paranormal Activity" rolled out gradually from city to city in a stealth-marketing campaign that built the buzz for the independently produced thriller that was shot for less than $15,000.

By the time the movie went into nationwide release, it had turned into a horror sensation that went on to become a $100 million hit.

The first movie came out of nowhere, and follow-up films to similar surprise smashes sometimes fall flat, such as "The Blair Witch Project" sequel. In its publicity campaign, Paramount tried to maintain an air of mystery for "Paranormal Activity 2."

Paramount also had the No. 2 movie with the stunt comedy "Jackass 3D," which opened in first place the previous weekend. "Jackass 3D" pulled in $21.6 million, down sharply from its $50 million opening.

But the movie raised its 10-day total to $87.1 million, more than either of the earlier two "Jackass" movies took in during their entire runs.

Summit Entertainment's action comedy "Red" held up well from its No. 2 debut a weekend earlier, slipping to third with $15 million and lifting its 10-day total to $43.5 million.

After opening Clint Eastwood and Matt Damon's "Hereafter" in limited release a week earlier, Warner Bros. expanded the supernatural drama nationwide, and the film came in at No. 4 with $12 million.

That slightly exceeded the studio's expectations, yet like most Eastwood dramas, it was a modest start. His films play to older adults who do not rush out on opening weekend.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com.

  1. "Paranormal Activity 2," $41.5 million.

  2. "Jackass 3D," $21.6 million.

  3. "Red," $15 million.

  4. "Hereafter," $12 million.

  5. "The Social Network," $7.3 million.

  6. "Secretariat," $6.9 million.

  7. "Life as We Know It," $6.2 million.

  8. "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole," $3.2 million.

  9. "The Town," $2.7 million.

  10. "Easy A," $1.8 million.


Online:

http://www.hollywood.com/boxoffice


Universal Pictures and Focus Features are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co.; Sony Pictures, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount and Paramount Vantage are divisions of Viacom Inc.; Disney's parent is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a division of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox Atomic are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a consortium of Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corp., Comcast Corp., DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.; Rogue Pictures is owned by Relativity Media LLC; Overture Films is a subsidiary of Liberty Media Corp.