Have audiences seen enough Saw?

Although Jigsaw is known for slaying his competition, the serial killer was no match for Katie Featherstone and Micah Sloat. This weekend, those two unknowns saw their small project, Paranormal Activity, finally top the box office charts. The movie, which was produced for approximately $15,000, reached that position after a steady climb up the ranks. (Aren’t films supposed to go down?) The horror flick also had a higher per screen average than any entry in the Top 10 despite fewer engagements.

I don’t mean to pour more salt into Saw VI‘s wound, but the aging series barely secured its second place finish. A mere $100,000 separated that sequel from this week’s third place winner: Where the Wild Thing Are.

1. Paranormal Activity, Dreamworks, $21,104,070 (avg. $10,850)
2. Saw VI, Lionsgate, $14,118,444 (avg. $4650)
3. Where the Wild Things Are, Warner Bros., $14,019,406 (avg. $3754)
4. Law Abiding Citizen, Overture Films, $12,403,888 (avg. $4292)
5. Couples Retreat, Universal, $10,620,685 (avg. $3455)
6. Astro Boy, Summit Entertainment, $6,702,923 (avg. $2224)
7. Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Universal, $6,293,205 (avg. $2285)
8. The Stepfather, Sony, $6,230,969 (avg. $2279)
9. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Sony, $5,250,541 (avg. $1916)
10. Zombieland, Sony, $4,205,812 (avg. $1719)

(You can review last week’s numbers here.)