There's been some paranormal activity this weekend in the U.S Box office. Most notably: the fourth incarnation of the found footage horror film performed well below industry expectations, but still usurped Taken 2 at the top of the charts.
A $30.2 million opening posted by the latest in the Paranormal Activity franchise was roughly $10 to $20 million lower than industry analysts expected, but still enough to it put at No.1. The popular scream-fest was also dominant outside North America too, as it edged out Taken 2 thanks to a $26.5m weekend debut in 22 countries, which contributed to a $56.7m worldwide opening weekend. The success just goes to show that fans of the genre don't pay much attention to reviews, and Paranormal Activity 4 has had a truly awful critical response, amassing the unimpressive score of 27% on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. New York Magazine, in particular, weren't fans: "We're still seeing things through handheld devices and built-in laptop cameras, even though nobody seems interested in looking at the footage the cameras were supposedly recording," they said.
Ben Affleck's on and off camera performance in Argo netted the second spot, with a healthy $43.2m. Taken 2 slipped down to 4th, with Hotel Transylvania gleaning a domestic $13.5m. Alex Cross, starring Lost's Matthew Fox makes up the top 5 with a poor $11.8m on its opening weekend, according to The Guardian
Life is quite sedentary in the small town of Bright Hope, the people rely on...
An attempt to spice up a true story with fictional characters and events leaves this...
Starting as a clever Contagion-style investigative thriller, this fiercely paced apocalyptic adventure begins to fall...
Gerry Lane is a government employee whose job takes him on missions he never imagined...
Following the catastrophic events of World War II which led to the Japanese forces' surrender,...
Gerry Lane is a United Nations employee with a family life anyone would wish for....
Alex Cross is a homicide detective in Washington DC who comes across a series of...
Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven) is a Vegas card sharp come gangster and former member...