It was quite an interesting weekend at the movies. While Alex Cross missed the mark at the box office, Paranormal Activity 4 and the popularity of Argo and Hotel Transylvania kept the numbers high for this time of year.
1. ‘Paranormal Activity 4’
This past weekend’s release of the fourth installment of Paranormal Activity grossed a slightly underwhelming $29 million at the box office. This would be a great start for any other low-budget horror movie, but given the fact that this is an established franchise, Paranormal Activity 4 hasn’t quite lived up to expectations. On this same weekend last year, Paranormal Activity 3 set an October opening record with $52.6 million, while the year before, Paranormal Activity 2 debuted with $40.7 million. Even though Paranormal Activity 4 hasn’t scared up the same numbers as the other films in the franchise (it’s looking to be the lowest-grossing film in the series), Paramount still has plans to move forward with a fifth installment.
Related: Paranormal Activity 4 Movie Review
2. ‘Argo’
In second place, Ben Affleck‘s Argo brought in an additional $16.4 million. Add that to last week’s total, and Argo is holding strong with a $43.2 million 10-day total. Although Argo‘s opening last week was less than Affleck’s previous film, The Town ($19.5 million vs. $23.8 million), the tables have turned this past weekend (The Town only grossed $15.6 million in its second weekend). Argo may not see the $92.2 million lifetime gross that The Town had, but the film should have a couple more good weekends before facing fierce competition from Skyfall on November 9th.
3. ‘Taken 2’
After being on top for two weeks, Taken 2 finally relinquished its first place title. That’s not to say that the movie hasn’t been doing well. Taking an additional $13.3 million from this past weekend, Taken 2 brings its total domestic gross so far to a very respectable $105.8 million, about $40 million off of the lifetime domestic gross of the film’s predecessor. How does that compare with other “Liam Neeson is a Badass” films? Well, in the third weekend for The Grey, Unknown, and Taken, the films had grossed $5 million, $6.5 million, and $19 million, respectively. I would say Taken 2 is holding up very well and Taken 3 is most likely in the cards.
Related: Taken 2 Movie Review
4. ‘Hotel Transylvania’
The Adam Sandler comedy Hotel Transylvania is also doing surprising well, which is great news for Sandler fans. The film grossed $13 million at the box office this past weekend, bringing its four week total to $118.5 million. At the rate the film is going, it may pass the other animated films, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ($124.9 million) and The Smurfs ($142.6 million) to make Hotel Transylvania Sony Picture Animation’s highest-grossing movie ever.
Related: Hotel Transylvania Movie Review
5. ‘Alex Cross’
It was not a good weekend for fans of Tyler Perry or James Patterson. Alex Cross debuted with a disappointing $11.75 million this past weekend, making the film the worst opening ever for a movie starring Tyler Perry. The film debut is also worse than other films in the Alex Cross series, including Kiss the Girls ($13.2 million) and Along Came a Spider ($16.7 million). Let’s hope that Tyler Perry’s isn’t starting to lose his touch.
Next Week’s Releases
This coming weekend sees the release of Cloud Atlas, Chasing Mavericks, and Silent Hill: Revelation 3D. It’s anyone’s guess as to which film will make it out on top, but let us know your prediction in the comments below.
Box Office Report: October 19th – October 21st
1. Paranormal Activity 4 – $29 million
2. Argo – $16.4 million
3. Taken 2 – $13.3 million
4. Hotel Transylvania – $13 million
5. Alex Cross – $11.4 million
6. Sinister – $8.8 million
7. Here Comes the Boom – $8.4 million
8. Pitch Perfect – $6.8 million
9. Frankenweenie – $4.3 million
10. Looper – $4.2 million
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