THIS IS IT takes top at the box office; PARANORMAL ACTIVITY still pulling in millions
It would have been the box office surprise of the year if the Michael Jackson concert film, THIS IS IT, didn’t take first place this weekend. It was the only film in wide release, and it was released under the pretense that it would only be in theaters for a limited two week run (of course, now word is out that its run has been extended until Thanksgiving, and there is even chatter about a 3D version). The film made over $21 million in its first weekend, but has pulled in $101 million worldwide since Wednesday, making it the highest grossing concert film of all-time. While those numbers are impressive, it is important to note that these figures are still far below original projections, which once touted the film as on course to making $250 million in its first week.
The PARANORMAL ACTIVITY scares kept coming this weekend, as the indie that could came in second, with over $16.5 million. The film’s total gross is now a staggering $85 million. Who would have thought that a film made for less than 15K would break the $100 million club?
Oddly enough, it looked like the movie-goers looking for scares this Halloween weekend were primarily PARANORMAL-bound, as SAW VI slipped all the way down to fifth place, with $5.56 million. So much for my belief that the film would hold on based on good buzz. The box office also saw the bizarre resurgence of two films I thought we had all agreed to stop talking about – LAW ABIDING CITIZEN and COUPLES RETREAT both moved back up a spot, to third and fourth place, respectively.
The weekend’s two limited releases, THE BOONDOCK SAINTS II: ALL SAINTS DAY and GENTLEMAN BRONCOS, turned in generally fair performances. ALL SAINTS DAY came in sixteenth place, showing in only 68 theaters. GENTLEMAN BRONCOS opened in two theaters and made about $10K. Hey, at least it’s not ZYZZYX ROAD, huh, yeah?
Source Box Office Mojo
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