I was actually surprised by this weekend’s results, not by the order of course but by the numbers. I really expected Michael Jackson’s This is It to bring in much more money than it did. After all it was the only movie really opening this weekend and the hype it has been generating should have brought in more people. Paranormal Activity on the other hand continues to impress, six weeks into the box office and it still more than doubles the box office returns in its closest competitor. That movie is just astounding having made over $80 million at the box office so far when it only cost $15,000 to make. Overall though this weekend was disappointing for the box office as the top 12 did not even break $80 million, considering the box office has been over $100 million for the past few weeks this is a sharp decline. The box office hasn’t been under $80 million since the beginning of September. This may be due to the fact that it was a Halloween weekend, so we will have to since if the number bounce back next weekend.
| TW | LW | Title (click to view) | Studio | Weekend Gross | % Change | Theater Count / Change | Average | Total Gross | Budget* | Week # | |
| 1 | N | Michael Jackson’s This Is It | Sony | $21,300,000 | – | 3,481 | – | $6,119 | $32,509,000 | – | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | Paranormal Activity | Par. | $16,540,000 | -21.6% | 2,404 | +459 | $6,880 | $84,780,000 | $0.015 | 6 |
| 3 | 4 | Law Abiding Citizen | Over. | $7,303,000 | -41.1% | 2,764 | -126 | $2,642 | $51,385,000 | $50 | 3 |
| 4 | 5 | Couples Retreat | Uni. | $6,097,000 | -42.6% | 3,026 | -48 | $2,015 | $86,663,000 | $70 | 4 |
| 5 | 2 | Saw VI | LGF | $5,560,000 | -60.6% | 3,036 | – | $1,831 | $22,824,000 | $11 | 2 |
| 6 | 3 | Where the Wild Things Are | WB | $5,081,000 | -63.8% | 3,645 | -90 | $1,394 | $61,800,000 | $100 | 3 |
| 7 | 8 | The Stepfather (2009) | SGem | $3,400,000 | -45.4% | 2,346 | -388 | $1,449 | $24,748,000 | $20 | 3 |
| 8 | 6 | Astro Boy | Sum. | $3,035,000 | -54.7% | 3,020 | +6 | $1,005 | $10,891,000 | $65 | 2 |
| 9 | 11 | Amelia | FoxS | $3,000,000 | -23.2% | 1,070 | +250 | $2,804 | $8,306,000 | $40 | 2 |
| 10 | 7 | Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant | Uni. | $2,809,000 | -55.4% | 2,754 | – | $1,020 | $10,521,000 | $40 | 2 |
| 11 | 9 | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | Sony | $2,700,000 | -48.6% | 2,322 | -419 | $1,163 | $118,557,000 | $100 | 7 |
| 12 | 10 | Zombieland | Sony | $2,600,000 | -38.2% | 2,056 | -391 | $1,265 | $71,161,000 | $23.6 | 5 |
Source: BoxOfficeMojo.com