Paranormal Activity 2 tops box office

Cashing in nicely on the success of its predecessor, haunted house sequel Paranormal Activity 2 has gone storming straight to the top of the box office with the most successful opening weekend ever recorded by a supernatural horror flick.

Banking a hefty $41.5 million (the previous best, in case anyone is remotely interested, was The Grudge ’s $39.1 million back in 2004) the spooky chiller comfortably knocked last week’s number one Jackass 3D into second place with takings of $21.6 million.

The only other new release to break into the top ten is a similarly ghostly affair (albeit one that’s a little less traumatic) in the shape of Clint Eastwood’s The Hereafter , which managed to take fourth spot with an opening of just over $12 million.

Meanwhile, Red ’s creaking cast show no signs of letting up just yet, with another $15 million keeping the blast-em-up in third place.

David Fincher’s excellent The Social Network continues to cling to the top five with a $7 million take, narrowly edging out Disney’s horsey offering Secretariat on $6.9 million.

Life As We Know It lies in seventh with $6.3 million, whilst Zack Snyder’s owl-based epic Legend Of The Guardians limps over the $50 million mark with a $3 million weekend.

The Town and Easy A round off the top ten, taking $2.7 million and $1.7 million respectively.

Looks as though we’ll be seeing more Paranormal Activity down the track (what, you think they’ll stop at two if they’re this popular?) although the spooks might not have it all their own way next weekend.

It’s Halloween you see, which can only mean one thing…yet another Saw movie. Yikes!