Weekend Box Office Update

It was never a question of whether or not Paranormal Activity 4 would take the top spot at the box office, but how big it would open. In this case, it would appear that franchise fatigue has set in. The latest Paranormal Activity installment had the lowest opening of the three sequels, with $30.2 million. To put this in perspective, Paranormal Activity 2 opened with $40.6 million and Paranormal Activity 3 opened with $52.5 million.

What's the reason for this? Bad word of mouth from both audiences and critics. Unlike the past films, the early screenings probably did more to hurt Paranormal Activity 4 than to help it. This isn't any reason for Paramount to shed tears, though, as the film only cost an estimated $5 million to produce. They have already greenlit Paranormal Activity 5 for next October, but they're going to have to win back audiences if they want to keep pushing forward with this series.

As far as other Horror-themed movies go, Hotel Transylvania continues to have steady ticket sales and Sinister is doing pretty good as well, especially considering its R-rating. The same can't be said for Frankenweenie, but it had nothing to do with people hating the movie. Tim Burton's latest effort scored well with crowds and critics, but its audience is limited and it's fighting against the more kid friendly Hotel Transylvania for viewers.

Next week sees the release of Silent Hill: Revelation 3D and Cloud Atlas. Here at the top ten results for this weekend:

1. Paranormal Activity 4 - $30,200,000
2. Argo - $16,625,000
3. Hotel Transylvania - $13,500,000
4. Taken 2 - $13,400,000
5. Alex Cross - $11,750,000
6. Sinister - $9,030,000
7. Here Comes the Boom - $8.500,000
8. Pitch Perfect - $7,009,000
9. Frankenweenie - $4,434,000
10. Looper - $4,200,000