Box Office Update: Ambiguous "Activity"

Sorry for the two day break, but some big things were happening in the town where I go to school and that took up a great deal of my time. What took up the rest of my time is something you'll learn about by the end of the week. Suffice it to say that I didn't feel motivated enough to head out to see "Paranormal Activity 3", even though I've not been to the theaters in weeks. Not to say that my presence was sorely missed, if it ever is, as the film still managed to bring in a massive sum, despite degenerating interest from last year's film which many were disappointed by. It looks like that franchise has quite enough juice in it to last a while longer. And what with all the positive buzz from reviews, though not overwhelmingly positive, you can expect this entry to do well in coming weeks.

Meanwhile, elsewhere down the box office chain, "Real Steel" managed to hold up better in its third weekend, a drop of just %, and still holding strong over the other new releases. The robot boxing film currently stacks up at $67 million, likely making the $100 million mark by the end of its run. Right behind it was "Footloose", which fell an almost equal percentage, indicating similar adoration for the teen dance flick. Such could not be said for "The Three Musketeers", which opened to director Paul W.S. Anderson's lowest sum since he started working on the "Resident Evil" franchise. The man was thankfully not missed.

And then "The Ides of March" rounded things out of the top five, falling no more than modestly, which is as best could be expected after the low opening. "Johnny English Reborn" was a complete flop, as predicted and hoped, ending up the dreaded eighth place opening. The real news of the weekend was "Martha Marcy May Marlene" opening to $138,000 in four theaters. Fingers are crossed that it makes its way too wider venues sooner rather than later. Overall, however, the weekend wasn't quite up to snuff with last year, when "Jackass 3D"s second weekend and "Paranormal Activity 2" set a high bar to live up to.

1. "Paranormal Activity 3" (First Weekend; $54 million)

2. "Real Steel" (Third Weekend; $11.3 million)

3. "Footloose" (Second Weekend; $10.9 million)

4. "The Three Musketeers" (First Weekend; $8.8 million)

5. "The Ides of March" (Third Weekend; $4.9 million)

6. "Dolphin Tale" (Fifth Weekend; $4.2 million)

7. "Moneyball" (Fifth Weekend; $4.1 million)

8. "Johnny English Reborn" (First Weekend; $3.8 million)

9. "The Thing" (Second Weekend; $3.1 million)

10. "50/50" (Fourth Weekend; $2.8 million)