In the five weekends since its release, Paranormal Activity has consistently taken large leaps up the ranks at the box office.
This past weekend, facing potential competition from the openings of four new films, Paranormal Activity finally made its move into the number one spot at theaters.
With the buzz about the thriller growing rather than dying as it continues its run in theaters, Paranormal Activity brought in over $22 million in only its second weekend of wide release. This easily passed up Saw VI, which was expected to be Paranormal Activity’s biggest competition for the weekend, but took in only $14.8 million, filling the number two spot.
Last weekend’s top rankers managed to hold on to high spots, but saw the drop of Where the Wild Things Are from #1 to #3, Law Abiding Citizen from #2 to #4, and Couples Retreat from #4 to #5.
Although dropping from their former positions, last weekend’s top films were hardly shaken by the weekend’s openers other than Saw VI.
The only animated opener of the weekend, Astro Boy took the #6 spot, while Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, which was expected to do well, only opened at eighth.
Amelia, despite starring big-draw names such as Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, and Ewan McGregor, didn’t even make it into the top ten for the weekend, being trumped by Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs at #9 and Zombieland at #10.
This coming weekend will see things slowing down at the box office as far as releases go, with only one film opening. The Michael Jackson documentary This Is It will be hitting theaters, and if the ticket pre-sales are any indicator, the music-filled flick could very likely give Paranormal Activity a run for its money.
