Paranormal Activity 2 Hits Horror High

OCT 25, 2010 - Paranormal Activity 2 delivered the highest-grossing opening weekend ever for a supernatural horror movie, while the other new supernaturally-themed entry, Hereafter, had a quieter launch. Overall business was up nearly 12 percent from the same weekend last year, when the first Paranormal Activity led.

Haunting approximately 4,500 screens at 3,216 locations, Paranormal Activity 2 drew an estimated US$41.5 million, topping The Grudge's US$39.1 million for supernatural supremacy in first weekend gross (though it ranked seventh in estimated attendance). The first Paranormal Activity opened nearly 13 months ago but had a slow roll-out into nationwide release.

After a week of limited play, Hereafter expanded nationwide, showing on close to 2,500 screens at 2,181 locations, and grossed an estimated US$12 million. True to its content, Jackass 3-D fell flat in its second weekend, but, since its grosses have been at a high level, that still meant a solid estimated US$21.6 million.

Here are the Top 5 North American B-O studio estimates for Oct 22-24, 2010 weekend, in terms of rank, Movie name (studio), Weekend takings in USD, (Cumulative gross, USD) and week on chart, courtesy of Boxofficemojo.

1. Paranormal Activity 2 (Paramount) $41.5 million ($41.5 million) 1

2. Jackass 3-D (Paramount) $21.6 million ($87.1 million) 2

3. Red (Summit) $15.0 million ($43.5 million) 2

4. Hereafter (Warner Bros.) $12.0 million ($12.3 million) 2

5. The Social Network (Sony / Columbia) $7.3 million ($72.9 million) 4