As expected, Paranormal Activity 4 topped the box office, but its' numbers weren't anywhere near its' predecessors neither was it near what analysts were expecting. The horror fourquel earned $29 million, for a per-theater average of a good $8,501 from around 5,000 screens at 3,412 theaters. That was 45% below the third movie's $52.6 million debut last year, and 25% below the second film's $40.6 million debut two years ago. Considering the fourth Saw movie fell only 7% from its' predecessors' opening, this isn't a good sign for the now-fading franchise. Sequels (particularly fourth installments on up) usually have a hard time doing well as their predecessors, and with Sinister serving as stiff competition, it seemed like audiences are getting tired of the found-footage series. But the opening is certainly not disastrous. Like its' predecessors, this movie had a tiny budget of just $5 million, so its' easy money for distributor Paramount, who hasn't had a movie in theaters since Madagascar 3 back in June. There's already word of a fifth installment already in the works for next October, and with huge international numbers, this will still be a hit, just not as large as what some were hoping for. The film received a stale "C" CinemaScore, and with Silent Hill: Revelation opening next weekend, it will probably fade fast. Distributor Paramount Pictures was expecting between $35 and $40 million for the weekend.Following its' middling debut last weekend, Argo held incredibly well. The critically and audience-adored flick was down a record-setting 16% from last weekend, grossing $16.4 million and remaining in second place. After trailing Ben Affleck's last film The Town during opening weekend, the movie held better and ended up grossing more than that films' second weekend. The movie still trails Town in total cumulative gross so far, but in 10 days, the Best Picture-front runner has earned $43 million. Expect strong holds into November.
After topping the last two weekends, Taken 2 retreated to third place, but is starting to level off somewhat. The action sequel was down 39% to $13.3 million, for a 17-day tally of $105.8 million, and becoming the 20th movie of 2012 to reach the $100 million mark domestically. Unless it holds on stronger the next couple of weeks, the sequel will likely come up just short of its' predecessors' $145 million total. But its' more than beaten the first movie overseas.
With no competition for families, Hotel Transylvania stayed in fourth place and also held strongly, down just 25% to $13 million, for a 24-day tally of $118.5 million. The animated hit should have a similar decline next weekend, on its' way to a finish close to or at $150 million. If it does what I'm thinking, it will pass The Smurfs' $143 million final gross to become Sony Pictures Animation's biggest-grossing film yet. Due to Transylvania being a big hit, SPA has slated Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 for the end of September of next year, the same weekend Transylvania broke the September record this year.
Meanwhile, the other new release, action thriller Alex Cross got off to a middling start in fifth place. Tyler Perry's latest debuted to $11.4 million, for a per-theater average of a moderate $4,489 from around 3,000 screens at 2,539 theaters. That was at the very low end of expectations, as distributor Lionsgate (through Summit Entertainment) had high expectations (due to seemingly high buzz). But with Taken 2 and Paranormal Activity 4 catering to its' audience, it didn't seem like there was room for another movie. The movie also marked Perry's least-grossing opening yet (including all of his comedies and dramas). There is one positive thing however. Despite negative reception from critics, the movie received an "A" CinemaScore from audiences, which could help word-of-mouth. Another good thing is that the budget was only $23 million, so it should be able to at least turn a subtle profit. Distributor Lionsgate was hoping for $20 million.All other holdovers saw good holds. Despite having the worst competition possible, Sinister had a great hold, down 51% (strong for a horror flick) to $8.8 million, for a $31.7 million tally in 10 days. It seems like word-of-mouth is good for the independent film, and it should go on to gross around $45 million by the time it leaves theaters. Saving face, Here Comes The Boom was down only 29% to $8.4 million, for a $23.1 million gross in 10 days. The Kevin James comedy is also showing signs of good word-of-mouth and could finish as high as $45 million, not impressive, but not disastrous either.
Musical comedy Pitch Perfect was down only 27% to an $6.8 million, for a solid $45.5 million in 24 days, and is proving to be quite the sleeper. On the other hand, Frankenweenie is having a hard time keeping up with the rest, down 39% to $4.3 million, for a not-good $28.2 million in 17 days. Rounding out the Top 10 was Looper, which was down 32% to $4.2 million, for a $57.8 million gross in 24 days.
Internationally, Paranormal Activity 4 claimed first place with a solid $26.5 million from 33 countries, for an international launch total of $56.7 million (opening higher internationally than predecessors). Taken 2 slid to second with $23.6 million (down 48%) in 66 markets, bringing its' overseas tally to $175 million and worldwide total to over $280 million, way past its' predecessor. Opening in its' final overseas market, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted came in third place and is capping off an impressive overseas run, with another $14.9 million from 28 markets. The worldwide tally for the animated threequel will pass $700 million tomorrow, ranking as the fifth-biggest movie of 2012 internationally. Fellow animated film Hotel Transylvania hung around and continued to slowly expand, with another $14.5 million from 38 markets, giving the animated monster mash nearly $70 million overseas by far. Rounding out the Top 5 was Ted, which earned another $8 million from 42 markets, propelling its' worldwide gross to over $480 million, and will pass $500 million within the next two weeks.
