This Is It, Kenny Ortega’s documentary about Michael Jackson’s preparations for his London concert, topped the weekend box office with an estimated total of $21.3 million.  Paramount’s over-achieving micro-budgeted Paranormal Activity dropped only 21.5% and took second with an estimated $16.5 million.  Fright night certainly scared the Hollywood studios--This Is It was the only new film in wide release.  With a Saturday night Halloween depressing weekend totals, the total of the top ten films was the lowest of 2009 so far.

Weekend Box Office (Studio Estimates): October 30 - November 1, 2009
Rank	Film	Weekend Gross	Screens	Avg./Screen
1	Michael Jackson's This Is It	$21,300,000	3,481	$6,119
2	Paranormal Activity	$16,540,000	2,404	$6,880
3	Law Abiding Citizen	$7,303,000	2,764	$2,642
4	Couples Retreat	$6,097,000	3,026	$2,015
5	Saw VI	$5,560,000	3,036	$1,831
6	Where the Wild Things Are	$5,081,000	3,645	$1,394
7	The Stepfather	$3,400,000	2,346	$1,449
8	Astro Boy	$3,035,000	3,020	$1,005
9	Amelia	$2,809,000	1,070	$2,804
10	Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant	$2,700,000	2,754	$1,020

The Michael Jackson documentary performed even better worldwide than it did in the States.  The worldwide gross for This Is It has already topped $100 million.  While fan-driven films typically do most of their business in the first ten days in theaters, This Is It has received an excellent CinemaScore of “A” from theatergoers, which could indicate that it won’t fall off as fast as many analysts believe.  As might be expected the audience for the Jackson documentary skewed older with 62% over 25 and slightly female (52%).  Sony bought the rights to the rehearsal footage for $60 million and will certainly make its money back as a worldwide gross of over $200 million seems assured.

 

Paranormal Activity posted the strongest per-theater average in the top 10 ($6,880) and ran its total to nearly $85 million.  It is already the top-grossing horror film of 2009 and will easily earn more than $100 million.  Paranormal’s chief victim was Saw VI, which dropped 61% in its second week of release and will likely end up earning less than its franchise predecessors garnered on their opening weekends.

 

The Saturday night Halloween certainly didn’t help the kiddie flicks.  Spike Jonze’s Where The Wild Things Are dropped 64% while Astro Boy declined 55%.  Astro Boy has earned only $10 million in its first ten days of release as has Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant.  Both films are now certified box office duds that will have to do their damage on DVD.

 

A sequel to the cult film The Boondock Saints, The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, opened in 68 theaters and averaged $6,704, a solid figure for a film in wide release, but not all that impressive for a limited release.