Box Office: Michael Jackson, 'Paranormal Activity' terrify Halloween moviegoers

'This Is It' takes in $21.3 million, while the 'Saw' franchise continues to dive

By Daniel Fienberg Sunday, Nov 1, 2009 2:42 PM

'Michael Jackson's This Is It'

Halloween audiences split their moviegoing dollars between two very different films over the weekend.

The weekend champ was the documentary "Michael Jackson's This Is It," which delivered $21.3 million domestic for the three days ending Sunday, Nov. 1. The concert film, culled from behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage from the King of Pop's last weeks before his June death, has now made $101 million worldwide since it opened late Tuesday. Many box office prognosticators had projected a far higher opening weekend for what was originally a limited-run release. Sony has already extended the film's run.

While "This Is It" may have fallen short of expectations, the weekend's runner-up, Paramount's low-budget "Paranormal Activity," continues to exceed even the studio's wildest dreams. "Paranormal Activity" made $16.54 million over the weekend, falling only 22 percent from last weekend's total by adding more than 450 screens. "Paranormal Activity" has now made $84.78 million domestic to date and is credited with dethroning the "Saw" franchise as Halloween king.

"Saw VI" finished fifth on the weekend with $5.56 million, behind "Law Abiding Citizen" ($7.73 million) and "Couples Retreat" ($6.097 million). Jigsaw's latest adventure dropped by nearly 61 percent in its second weekend, bringing its total to only $22.82 million. Yes, the "Saw" franchise keeps its budgets low, but since "Saw II," each of the films has had a lower domestic box office cume than the one before and "Saw VI" isn't likely to get within 60 percent of the $56 million total for "Saw VI."

Filling out the rest of the Top 10 were "Where the Wild Things Are" ($5.08 million), "The Stepfather" ($3.4 million) and a trio of box office disappointments -- "Astro Boy" ($3.035 million), "Amelia" ($3 million) and "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant" ($2.81 million).

Sony Pictures Classic's "An Education" continues to be the star of the limited marketplace, taking in $505,00 in only 48 theaters for a total of $1.575 million for the Oscar favorite. Also performing well on a reduced screen load was the sequel "The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day," which made $462,000 in only 68 theaters for the second highest per-screen average of any film in the Top 20.

Here's a breakdown of the weekend estimates for the Top 10 movies at the box office, according to BoxOfficeMojo. Final figures are released on Monday.

1. "Michael Jackson's This Is It,' $21.3 million, $32.5 million to date.

2. "Paranormal Activity," $16.54 million, $84.78 million to date.

3. "Law Abiding Citizen," $7.303 million, $51.39 million to date.

4. "Couples Retreat," $6.097 million, $86.66 million to date.

5. "Saw VI," $5.56 million, $22.82 million to date.

6. "Where The Wild Things Are," $5.08 million, $61.8 million to date.

7. "The Stepfather," $3.4 million, $24,75 million to date.

8. "Astro Boy," $3.035 million, $10.89 to date.

9. "Amelia," $3 million, $8.31 million to date.

10. "The Vampire's Assistant," $2.809 million, $10.52 million to date.

Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.