Astro Opens in 6th; Paranormal Shoots to Top

Sunday, October 25, 2009
By: Thomas J. Mclean

Astro Boy launched into low orbit in a weekend of unusual box office results that saw the cult film Paranormal Activity peak in the top spot.

Summit Entertainment’s release of Image Studios’ CG-animated Astro Boy finished its first weekend with a domestic gross of $7 million — landing it in sixth place.

Paranormal Activity, a small and low-budget horror film that caught on slowly at first with the public, soared to a $22 million weekend. Its total domestic gross to date is $62 million after its fifth weekend of release.

Another horror movie, Lionsgate’s Saw VI, debuted in second place $14.8 million and was followed in succession by holdovers Where the Wild Things Are with $14.4 million, Law Abiding Citizen with $12.7 million and Couples Retreat with $11 million.

Among the other new releases this weekend, eighth-place Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant took in $6.3 million and the biopic Amelia earned $4 million for 11th place.

A limited re-release of the 3-D version of The Nightmare Before Christmas opened in 105 cinemas and earned $131,000.

Other animated fare includes Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, which landed in ninth place with a $5.6 million weekend gross and a $115 million total. The 3-D double feature of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 earned just over $1 million for a total of $30.2 million after its fourth weekend in theaters.

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