Paranormal Activity Tops Saw VI at Box Office

Published by Jeff Leins on: October 25th, 2009

Paramount Pictures’ low-budget phenomenon Paranormal Activity rose through the ranks to first place this weekend, beating horror competition from Lionsgate’s Saw VI.  Astro Boy and Cirque du Freak took a harsh beating too.

The $15,000 production added another $22 million as it expanded to roughly 1,945 theaters across the country.  It’s $62.5 million gross screams profitability, which explains why there are already rumblings of a sequel.  This little creepy Cinderalla story may end up being the best return on investment in Paramount’s modern history.

By contrast, Saw VI is the worst box office performer of its franchise with $14.8 million.  Since the first Saw sequel, the usually reliable series has always been the top horror movie of the Halloween season, but this is the lowest opening of the six installments, including the 2004 original.  It’s also half of what the previous four trapped in their late October starts.  Nevertheless, Lionsgate is pushing forward with a seventh in the “torture porn” formula, this time in 3-D.

(It should be noted that Saw VI somehow had the second best reviews of the series with 43% on Rotten Tomatoes.)

Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are declined 56% from last week’s win to third place and $14.4 million.  The numbers indicate an audience skewed a bit older than the PG rating suggests.  It may not make back it’s $100 million domestically though.

Newcomer kid flick Astro Boy took just $7 million, a crash and burn failure for animation house Imagi Studios.  I enjoy flipping through a manga like the next geek, but most parents aren’t too familiar with Japanese comic books.

Another fresh opener was Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, the latest to cash in on the bloodthirsty craze.  It made only $6.3 million, proving John C. Reilly really can’t carry a movie by himself with only a few “who the hell are they” teens to back him up.  Another example of studios hopping on the bandwagon rather than searching for their own breakout hit.

The other new release was Amelia, playing on just 818 theaters and making only $4 million.  It finished out of the top 10 for a not-so-Swanky 11th place.  Slammed by critics and boring its audiences (60% female), it’s chances of flying onto Oscar ballots have disappeared entirely.

3-Day U.S. Weekend Estimates:
1. Paranormal Activity  $22 million
2. Saw VI  $14.8 million
3. Where the Wild Things Are  $14.4 million
4. Law Abiding Citizen  $12.7 million
5. Couples Retreat  $11.1 million
6. Astro Boy  $7 million
7. The Stepfather $6.5 million
8. Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant  $6.3 million
9. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs  $5.6 million
10. Zombieland  $4.3 million