Michael Jackson's 'This Is It' beats the competition to the top

By Sarah Sluis

The documentary of a concert that never was, This Is It, easily found its place at #1 this weekend, bringing in $21.3 million. Michael Jackson's songs have spent plenty of time at #1 on the Billboard charts, but now the late music icon can add #1at the box office to his list of accomplishments. Globally, the movie was even more of a success, passing the $100 million mark in its first weekend. Sony paid $60 million for the movie (not including marketing), so the doc will turn a healthy profit. The fact that Sony holds rights to Jackson's music will also help the parent company's bottom line.

In second place, Paranormal Activity dropped just 21% to gross another $16.5 million. The movie is on track to pass $100 million in the next couple of weeks. Despite many viewers who have faulted the movie for being too slow or boring 90% of the time (see the semi-literate comments below the Paranormal Activity review), it appears the horror flick has become one of those films you need to see just to weigh in on, especially if you're a teenager.

Three spots lower, Saw VI dropped 61% to $5.6 million. While the original Saw possessed the robust word-of-mouth that has helped Paranormal Activity, the jig may be up. Currently, Saw VII (in 3D) is slated to begin production in January 2010 for a release next Halloween, but the lackluster box office may change plans. Whether or not this series is declared dead, with horror franchises it's only a matter of time before they're resurrected.

Amelia rose two spots to #9 this weekend, adding 250 theatres and only dropping 23%. While these are strong second-week results, the cumulative gross for the film is just $8 million, a disappointing sum.

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day had a per-screen average of $6,700 for a $462,000 total. Gentlemen Broncos, a Fox Searchlight release that seems to have been recalibrated for a small theatrical release, probably to platform for the DVD, made $5,000 per screen. While these are the kind of averages that work better on 3,000-screen releases, these movies will likely see more traction in their DVD windows.

This week will see a return to wide releases. A Christmas Carol will open in theatres just as stores are taking their Halloween decorations down, and The Men Who Stare at Goats will provide some indie-tinged comedy. The Box and The Fourth Kind will compete for thriller audiences. Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire will also debut in a limited amount of theatres, giving us a taste of its box-office prospects, so check back on Friday for the full roundup.