Paramount's upstart chiller 'Paranormal Activity' went into nationwide release and took over the No. 1 spot with $22 million. That compares to just $14.8 million for the debut of 'Saw VI', a franchise that has been an annual Halloween fixture since 2004.
It was the worst opening ever for Lionsgate's 'Saw' series, whose previous low was $18.3 million for the original movie. Subsequent installments of the "Saw" franchise all opened at $30 million or better.
This time, horror fans simply gravitated toward 'Paranormal Activity' instead of 'Saw VI'.
"`Paranormal' ate their lunch," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "There's no other way to explain it."
After four weeks in narrower release, Paramount slotted 'Paranormal Activity' into 1,945 theaters. That still was just under two-thirds of the 3,036 theater count for 'Saw VI'.
'Paranormal Activity' raised its total haul to $62.5 million. The low-budget movie was shot for a reported $15,000 but has become a horror sensation because of online fan buzz. The fictional movie unfolds like a homemade documentary as a couple copes with apparitions and supernatural phenomena in their home.
It has a strong shot at topping $100 million, something none of the 'Saw' movies ever managed. While 'Saw', the grisly saga of a puppetmaster putting victims through savage moral tests, was embraced as a fresh twist by horror fans five years ago, it now is part of the Hollywood establishment compared to 'Paranormal Activity'.
"There's no question `Paranormal' offered a fresh alternative," said Rob Moore, Paramount vice chairman. "This movie definitely has achieved a place in our culture right now."
The overall box office declined, with Hollywood revenues totaling $121 million, down 9 percent from the same weekend a year ago, when 'High School Musical 3: Senior Year' debuted with $42 million and 'Saw V' opened with $30.1 million.
The box-office should get a jolt over Halloween as 'Paranormal Activity' expands to as many as 2,500 theaters and Sony's 'Michael Jackson: This Is It' heads into its first weekend after debuting late Tuesday night.
The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, the Warner Bros. tale 'Where the Wild Things Are', fell to No. 3, just behind 'Saw VI' with $14.4 million. Spike Jonze's adaptation of the beloved children's book by Maurice Sendak raised its total to $54 million.
Among other wide releases, Summit Entertainment's 'Astro Boy' opened at No. 6 with $7 million, Universal's 'Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant' debuted at No. 8 with $6.3 million, and Fox Searchlight's 'Amelia' premiered at No. 11 with $4 million.
'Astro Boy' features the voices of Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell and Nicolas Cage in a sci-fi adventure based on the Japanese comic book and cartoon series about a superhero child robot. 'Vampire's Assistant' stars John C. Reilly as a centuries-old bloodsucker who takes on a teenage apprentice in a traveling freak show. 'Amelia' is a film biography of pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank).
In limited release from IFC Films, Lars von Trier's graphic 'Antichrist' had a modest debut, pulling in $73,500 in six theaters for a $12,250 average. The movie stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a couple whose relationship devolves into torture and self-mutilation after the death of their child.
Now that 'Paranormal Activity' has a firm grip on audiences, Paramount is toying with the prospects for sequels or prequels.
"Given the success of this and the passion of the online community, I think our guys have got a number of different ideas they're percolating," Moore said. "Once we've gotten to the end of this run, we'll see what other fun we can have with this."
Source: AP
