Sunday, October 21, 2012

'Paranormal Activity 4' Spooks Box Office Competition with $30.2 Million

Hear that? It's Paranormal Activity 4 screaming "Boo!" at the rest of the box office competition. As predicted, the latest in the beloved horror franchise topped the weekend box office with $30.2 million. That number is lower than the debut postings of the franchise's previous two outings, Paranormal Activity 3 and Paranormal Activity 2, which scared up $52.6 million and $40.7 million, respectively. Still, its latest take at the box office helped it finish atop the popular Hotel Transylvania and Taken 2 (No. 3 and 4) and adds to the franchise's impressive cume, which has now surpassed $600 million between the four films. And the numbers bode well for the box office in general — the industry has experienced four "up" weekends in a row compared to the comparable timeframe in 2011.

The weekend's other new showing, Alex Cross scored in the low teens, as expected, with $11.75 million and a No. 5 finish following spotty reviews. But audience members loved the movie, handing the film — which sees stars Tyler Perry and Matthew Fox playing against type — an A on CinemaScore. Perhaps rumors of a sequel may come true after all?

Oscar and audience buzz remains strong for Ben Affleck's Iranian hostage crisis film Argo, which finished in second place with $16.6 million and a total cume to date of $43.1 million. Incredibly strong and ongoing word-of-mouth is reflected in the minuscule 15% second weekend drop which is the best non-holiday drop for a live action release. Look for the film to continue to build its audience in the coming weeks and as Oscar buzz builds.


Lionsgate's Sinister in sixth place held very well considering the horror competition from P4 at the top of the chart.

What other films were golden with plenty of green this weekend? See the weekend's top five below!

1. Paranormal Activity 4: $30.2 million
2. Argo: $16.625 million; $43.191 million total
3. Hotel Transylvania: $13.5 million; $119 million total
4. Taken 2: $13.4 million; $105.97 million total
5. Alex Cross: $11.75 million

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