There was only one new release hitting the US box office top 10 this week, and as expected it went straight to the top of the chart. Paranormal Activity 2 scared up a decent pre-Halloween audience to take $41.5 million in its first three days. It's difficult to compare it to the first movie, as that was an unexpected phenomenon that gradually grew its audience, with its biggest weekend take being $21.1 million on its fifth week of release.
The sequel will undoubtedly follow a more usual trajectory, and see a drop-off over the next few weeks. However the real question is how it'll do against Saw 3D next weekend. Last year Paranormal Activity unexpected outgunned Saw VI on the weekend before Halloween, and it'll be interesting to see whether the 3D gimmick will make Saw a box office power once more. With Paranormal Activity 2 taking more in its first weekend than any Saw flick ever did, it might be fierce competition.
While there were no more new releases in the Top 10, after expanding its screen count massively, the Clint Eastwood directed Hereafter, starring Matt Damon, made its first appearance, leaping from number 28 to number 4, with a take of $12.0 million in its second weekend.
Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of October 22nd-24th.
| Rank |
Title |
Weekend Gross (millions) |
Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 |
Paranormal Activity 2 |
$41.5 |
$41.5 |
| 2 |
Jackass 3D |
$21.6 |
$87.1 |
| 3 |
Red |
$15.0 |
$43.4 |
| 4 |
Hereafter |
$12.0 |
$12.3 |
| 5 |
The Social Network |
$7.3 |
$72.9 |
| 6 |
Secretariat |
$6.9 |
$37.3 |
| 7 |
Life As We Know It |
$6.1 |
$37.6 |
| 8 |
Legend Of The Guardians |
$3.1 |
$50.1 |
| 9 |
The Town |
$2.7 |
$84.6 |
| 10 |
Easy A |
$1.7 |
$54.7 |