Weekend Box Office Results for October 22-24, 2010

Weekend Box Office Results for October 22-24, 2010

Paranormal Activity 2 slowed down a bit. On Friday it beat Jackass 20-7, but by Sunday the gap had narrowed to 8-6. (The Friday total included $6M from midnight showings). Despite the lack of momentum, its final total of $41.5 million was enough to make it the best horror movie opening of all time, and the 18th-best opening of all time among R-rated films. Combining the two factors results in a record-stomping performance. The previous high for an R-rated horror film was $29M, which was set by the Blair Witch Project way back in 1999.

The film's reviews were mixed. It received 67% positive reviews overall, and 53% from the top critics, which was pretty damned good for the genre. Roger Ebert took a hearty dump on it, assigning 1.5 stars, but mitigating his own distaste with an admission that the audience around him loved it, proving that the film obviously did what it set out to do.