Weekend Box Office: 'Paranormal Activity' Wins Weekend Horrorfest

Is the Saw bubble finally deflating for good? The sixth installment of the mainstay franchise played second fiddle to the still-surging Paranormal Activity this weekend, grossing only $14.8 million dollars -- less than half the bow of the previous four installments, and lower even than the original 2004 film. The competition from the plucky indie horror film likely has something to do with Saw VI's disappointing returns, waning interest is probably involved as well. Paranormal Activity, for its part, claimed the top spot for the first time in its impressive five-week run, hanging on to its momentum in its first weekend of legitimate wide release.

The Paranormal/Saw horror combo left the weekend's other newcomers floundering. Summit's Astro Boy didn't have the marketing muscle it needed, while Amelia was hurt by bad reviews and a lack of studio enthusiasm. But the weekend's real disappointment is Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, an obvious attempt by Universal to kick-start a new kiddie fantasy franchise, and a far, far bigger (albeit cheaper) fizzle than The Golden Compass. The Weitz brothers should no longer be permitted to work in this genre.

Where the Wild Things Are took a honking 55% hit in its second weekend, a victim of being an art film in mainstream guise. Law Abiding Citizen fared a little better -- it's now Overture's highest-grossing film.

The full top 11 after the jump.

1 - Paranormal Activity (Paramount) - $22.00 ($11,311) - $62.48
2 - Saw VI (Lionsgate) - $14.80 ($4,875) - $14.80
3 - Where the Wild Things Are (Warner Bros.) - $14.42 ($3,861) - $53,96
4 - Law Abiding Citizen (Overture) - $12.71 ($4,399) - $40.32
5 - Couples Retreat (Universal) - $11.10 ($3,610) - $78.21
6 - Astro Boy (Summit) - $7.02 ($2,328) - $7.02
7 - The Stepfather (Screen Gems) - $6.50 ($2,377) - $20.35
8 - Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (Universal) - $6.35 ($2,305) - $6.35
9 - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Sony) - $5.60 ($2,043) - $115.20
10 - Zombieland (Sony) - $4.30 ($1,757) - $67.31
11 - Amelia (Fox Searchlight) - $4.03 ($4,921) - $4.03

Next week: We'll see if the manufactured ticket-pre-sale hysteria surrounding Michael Jackson's This is It amounted to anything. Also, if his corpse is still warm.