'Saw 3D' a cut above 'Paranormal Activity 2'

By Sarah Sluis

Despite projections that competing horror flicks Saw 3D and Paranormal Activity 2 would be neck and neck, the newer content won out this weekend. Saw 3D opened to $22.5 million, with 92% of the figure coming from 3D screens. Billed as the "final chapter" of Saw, it remains unseen whether the seventh film will be the last, especially since the movie outperformed Saw VI's opening weekend by $8 million.

Paranormal Activity 2 dived 59% to $16.5 million in its second weekend, though the sequel's high opening weekend and weekday activity has already pushed the film to a healthy cumulative total of $65 million. It's just a matter of time before Paramount announces the next sequel.

Jackass 3D, with its similarly young, opening weekend-driven crowd, fell another 60% in its third weekend to $8.4 million, despite the fact that its gags could be called "frightening" by many of those squeamish around physical injury, along with gross-out moments that put reality show "eating challenges" to shame.

Adult fare held better. Geriatric action comedy Red descended 28% for a $10.8 million weekend. Secretariat slid 27% to $5 million, making both films look better than their opening weekends predicted.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the final installment of the Swedish thriller trilogy, opened slightly higher than its predecessor, earning $915,000 on a 153-screen release. That puts the movie on track to earn at least as much as The Girl Who Played with Fire, which is still playing in 33 theatres and has accrued $7.5 million in four months.

Conviction rose into the top ten in its third week, running up $1.8 million as it expanded from 55 to 565 screens. The per-screen average dipped from $5,500 to $3,200, a strong hold that helps make up for its lackluster first two weeks.

Documentary Waste Land eked out the highest per-screen average of the week with $11,600 on one screen. Just below, the French film Inspector Bellamy averaged $11,200 per screen on two screens. The indie film Monsters, despite its topical content, had a more mellow $7,000 per-screen average on three screens, though the sci-fi film's microbudget should help make up for a middling debut.

This Friday, the Zach Galifianakis-Robert Downey Jr. road trip comedy Due Date will go against Tyler Perry's artsy play adaptation For Colored Girls and DreamWorks Animation's tentpole release of animated 3D feature Megamind. Platform releases of 127 Hours and Fair Game will round out the crowded weekend. The end-of-the-year movie season has begun!