Weekend Wrap-Up

Saw 3D Wins The Fight; Paranormal Activity Wins the War

By John Hamann

October 31, 2010

Serves him right for being so evil on The Dead Zone.

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Finishing second is Paranormal Activity 2, which did the expected for a sequel horror flick. Paranormal Activity 2 earned $16.5 million in its second frame, down 59% from last weekend. I think it's important to remember that $6.3 million of last weekend's $40.7 million came from midnight screenings on Thursday, so it could be argued that the Paramount film's real opening gross was $34.4 million, which would make this weekend's drop more like 51%. Saw II dropped only 47% following Halloween in 2005. Regardless, Paranormal Activity 2 has already earned $65.7 million, and should earn $80 to $90 million over its run. All of this was done against a production budget of only $3 million, and we are just talking domestic returns. The demonic sequel has already earned almost $25 million overseas, and its just getting started. With these kind of production costs, and the want-to-see factor propelling it, I think the Paranormal Activity franchise can be just as popular as the Saw franchise, and the good news for Paranormal Activity is that there will be no Saw film to face off against next year.

Third spot this weekend goes to Red, which has another fantastic weekend. After a $15 million second frame and a slim 31% drop last weekend, Red does it again this weekend, holding strongly. Red earned another $10.8 million and drops only 28%, pulling ahead of Jackass 3D, which dominated the opening frame between these two films by $30 million. The $60 million Red has now earned $58.9 million – last weekend I was looking for a $75 million finish from Red, but with this hold we can bump that up to $80 million. It's interesting to see a star-driven action film face off against three of the biggest gimmick movies of all time, and not only survive, but thrive as well.

Fourth spot goes to Jackass 3D as it sees another big plunge this weekend. Following its 58% dive last weekend, Jackass 3D does it again, earning $8.4 million and falling 60%. Obviously, the large opening frame, 3D ticket prices, and other gimmicky options at theaters are keeping repeat viewers away. The good news for Paramount is that Jackass 3D did manage to cross the $100 million mark this weekend, and should finish with about $125 million. The running total for the $20 million pain extravaganza has hit $101.6 million.

Clint Eastwood's Hereafter drops a spot to fifth this weekend and has a pretty unspectacular hold. Hereafter earned $6.2 million in its second weekend of wide release and dropped 48%. It has a running total of $22.2 million against a budget of about $50 million.

Sixth goes to Secretariat, the faith-based horse racing film, now four weekends old. The Diane Lane Disney flick earned $5 million and dropped 28%. The small $35 million film (with the $50 million ad budget) has now earned $44.8 million.




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Seventh is The Social Network, now in its fifth frame. The David Fincher flick earned $4.7 million and dropped 35%. The Sony awards bait film has now earned $79.7 million against a $50 million budget. Overseas, this one has already brought in over $30 million.

Life As We Know It dips to eighth. The Katherine Heigl flick earned $4.1 million and dropped 33%. The $40 million Warner Bros. flick now has $43.6 million in the kitty. Unfortunately, there will still be more of these types of films.

Ninth goes to Ben Affeck's The Town, which has shown some serious resiliency. The Town never had a drop higher than 38% since the start of its run, and doesn't change anything this weekend. The Town earned $2 million and was off 27%. It has a running total of $87.7 million.

Finally, in tenth we have Conviction, more awards bait starring Hilary Swank. The drama platformed to 565 theaters this weekend and was able to ride that expansion to $1.8 million at the box office, a 502% increase over last weekend when it was available only in limited release.

Overall, this weekend is just ahead of 2009 in film. This year, the top 12 films picked up $86.7 million. Last year, with Halloween on a Saturday, the top 12 found $82.9 million. Next weekend brings us away from these gimmicky films and back to regular routine. Openers next weekend include Due Date with Robert Downey Jr., Megamind, with the voices of Will Ferrell, Tina Fey and Brad Pitt, and For Coloured Girls from Tyler Perry.


Top Weekend Box Office for 10/29/10-10/31/10 (Actuals)
Rank Film Distributor Estimated Gross Actual Gross Weekly Change Running Total
1 Saw 3D Lions Gate $24,200,000 $24,230,123 New $24,230,123
2 Paranormal Activity 2 Paramount Pictures $16,500,000 $16,508,107 - 59.4% $65,665,972
3 Red Summit Entertainment $10,811,000 $10,729,636 - 28.6% $58,823,430
4 Jackass 3D Paramount Pictures $8,425,000 $8,504,163 - 60.1% $101,657,558
5 Hereafter DreamWorks $6,250,000 $6,422,327 - 46.6% $22,263,797
6 Secretariat Walt Disney Pictures $5,071,000 $5,005,657 - 28.5% $44,708,804
7 The Social Network SONY $4,700,000 $4,515,105 -38% $79,520,984
8 Life as We Know It Warner Bros. Pictures $4,100,000 $4,055,473 - 33.9% $43,533,312
9 The Town Warner Bros. Pictures $2,000,000 $1,975,260 - 28.1% $87,626,867
10 Conviction $1,825,000 $1,831,111 +504.1% $2,383,725
11 Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole Warner Bros. $1,700,000 $1,758,321 - 45.9% $52,673,828
12 Easy A SONY $1,100,000 $1,067,248 -39% $56,300,305
  Also Opening/Notables
  The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest Music Box $915,044 $881,737 New $881,737
  Welcome to the Rileys Samuel Goldwyn Co. $45,000 $45,000 New $45,000
  Wild Target $24,316 $23,174 New $23,174
  Monsters Magnolia $20,500 $20,508 New $20,508
  Waste Land Arthouse $11,562 $9,806 New $9,806
  Strange Powers Variance N/A $4,620 New $8,190
  It's Kind of a Funny Story Focus Features $459,303 $444,453 - 34.4% $5,787,094
  Inside Job Sony Classics $205,148 $184,149 +8% $602,698
  Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps 20th Century Fox $765,000 $783,868 - 37.0% $51,219,733
  Waiting For 'Superman' Paramount Vantage $500,000 $515,283 -33% $4,593,109
Click here for all weekend data
Box office data supplied by Exhibitor Relations
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