RichC2

Paranormal is on roll and appears to have Saw beat for the weekend. At least for now. (All the other Saw sequels finished in first I believe.)

1. Paranormal Activity (Par) Week 5 [1,945 Runs] $7.5M Fri, Est Wkd $21M
2. Saw VI (LG) NEW [3,036] $6.9M Fri, Est Wkd $18M
3. Wild Things (WB) Week 2 [3,735] $4.3M Fri (-64%), Est Wkd $13M
4. Law Abiding (Over) Week 2 [2,890] $4.1M Fri (-45%), Est Wkd $12.5M
5. Couples Retreat (Uni) Week 3 [3,074] $3.6M Fri, Est Wkd $11.5M
6. Vampire's Assistant (Relativity/Uni) NEW [2,754] $2.2M Fri, Est Wkd $6.8M
7. The Stepfather (Sony) Week 2 [2,734] $2.2M Fri, Est Wkd $6.2M
8. Astro Boy (Imagi/Summit) NEW [3,014] $1.8M Fri, Est Wkd $7M
9. Cloudy/Meatballs (Sony) Week 6 [2,741] $1.4M Fri, Est Wkd $5.5M
10. Zombieland (Sony) Week 4 [2,447] $1.3M Fri, Est Wkd $4.5M
11. Amelia (Fox Searchlight] NEW [818] $1.3M Fri, Est Wkd $4M

islandclaws

Saw V got beaten last year by HSM 3. Looks like the franchise is finally starting to weaken considerably. Good for PA.

SkipKassidy

I had to do a double take when I saw Wild Things listed as #3.

cranberries fan

Saw Franchise needs to die quick 6 and done please no more "torture-gore".

Nice to see Paranormal Activity (it looks so real and I like that low-budget feel!).

Sad to see Where the Wild Things Are drop to 3rd I want to see this again soon.

Dr Mabuse

Glad to see PA blow it out to be #1.

Awesome.

Supermallet

That would be brilliant if it pans out.

J. Farley

Very happy to see PA beat out the new Saw movie. That's what I was hoping would happen, but all the predictions I'd read didn't see it happening.

Drav3n

wow i really hope paranormal is #1! i was a fan of the saw movies, but after 4 it just got so stupid.

i wanna see paranormal as #1 and where the wild things are as #2. saw needs to come to an end already.

Moleman1138

Saw VI under 35 total unless WOM get out (it's a damn good sequel).

Matthew Chmiel

I've told all my friends that Saw VI was awesome and they all looked at me like I was fucking retarded. If IV and V didn't suck, I bet this would've honestly done better; however, that's not the case and people's bad experiences with the last two or three have kept them away.

While it sucks, we're still getting Saw VII next Halloween.

I'm glad that Paranormal Activity is finally going to be the number one film in it's fifth week of release. Finke mentioned in this week's box office post that Paramount only paid $300,000 for the rights to the film and only $10 million for prints and advertising.

onebyone

I can't believe Paranormal Activity beat Saw myself.

Hope this and Zombieland's success will mean studios will be less chicken about releasing horror movies in October.

Mondo Kane

Same. Thought they remade the damn movie for a moment there.

Rypro 525

i can def see Paranormal at no 1 again next week, given that its halloween and what not.

fumanstan

I wonder if Saw having another full weekend before Halloween will help it out. With all the hype around Paranormal Activity now it doesn't surprise me though that people would only pick one "scary" movie to see around Halloween.

Drav3n

thats why i havent went and seen it. i thought 4 and 5 were terrible! is saw 6 really that good??

BJacks

Considering Saw costs next to nothing to make, a 20mil weekend is a huge success for the studio. Saw V cost around 11mil and made almost 115 worldwide. Saw IV made 140. I'm sure this will do something similar and we'll move right onto Saw VII.

tylergfoster

Saw VII is already in pre-production. If the buck stops, the soonest it can stop is at VII. And even then, Twisted heads Burg and Koules have said that they have the story threaded through VIII, so even if VII posts a notable decline -- which I doubt, since it's gonna be in 3D -- I imagine we'll see a theatrical VIII anyway, perhaps as the series' theatrical conclusion.

DeanoBKN

I'm a sucker for the Saw movies. Every time they still find a way to surprise me, and I really dig the multilayered backstory with all it's twists and turns.

xage

Kudos to the marketing group at Paramount.

After expanding to 1,900+ theaters this week, The previous week was a promo galore, PAs (Promotional Administrators) of PA (Paranormal Activity) have this promo boradcasted at their site, myspace, facebook, etc..:

- The first 10 theaters to sell out the 12:01 AM
- Showtime on 10.23.09 (to clarify 11:59PM 10.22.09 | 12:01AM 10.23.09) will receive an exclusive Paranormal Activity party.


I never did get it until now... wow..

Last time SAW lost a head to head horror boxoffice race weekend showdown was last 2004, when The Grudge ruled the weekend.


Next week... Halloween Weekend ... Looks like a True Ghost Spirit will rule the Box Office Weekend?

The Ghost of Michael Jackson's This Is It

tylergfoster

I hate how, amongst Saw haters, it's often impossible to say this without sounding "high and mighty". It's more like a B-cop show than an elaborate look inside the human soul, but some of us like it, damn it!

resinrats

Sure sucks to be Amelia's studio. Didn't even make it into the top 10 on opening weekend.

Jackskeleton

Sorry folks, but SAW will see VII VIII IX and X before they stop.

And really, either choice you make between Paranormal and Saw, stop fooling yourselves, their both torture porn. Only difference is one is a Day Trader and Huge boobed couple and the other is an Health Care Provider.

Patman

As mentioned in that other Amelia thread, it only opened on about 800 screens.

Son of Odin

i thought astro boy would do a little better. the saw franchise will probably never die.

tylergfoster

I don't think you understand the meaning of the term "torture porn", since there is no torture whatsoever in Paranormal Activity. It is not a blanket term for all horror, it has a specific meaning.