娱乐英语新闻:"Paranormal Activity 2" opens on top of North America box office

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- A supernatural power has reigned over the North America box office over the weekend as " Paranormal Activity 2" harvested 41.5 million dollars in ticket stubs, a big surprise for Hollywood moviemakers and critics.

The sequel to the supernatural horror film "Paranormal Activity " which opened 13 months ago, "Paranormal Activity 2" debuted on 4, 500 screens at 3,216 locations in Canada and the United States, and is projected to do an estimated 2.5 million dollars of that business at Imax 3-D screens. Directed by Tod Williams and distributed by the Paramount Pictures, the flick made a bigger splash than most analysts had expected, the North America box office authority said on Sunday.

"Jackass 3-D," which premiered last week, saw its ticket sales drop by 57 percent this week, but still managed to stay on second place, selling 21.6 million dollars. The third follow-up to the prank- and stunt-rich Jackass series, the comedy's two-week total amounts to 87.1 million dollars.

"Red," a spy film with an ensemble cast of experienced actors headed by Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren which debuted last week, was in third place, with 15 million dollars this weekend and 43.5 million dollars over two weekends for the Summit movie.

"Hereafter," a drama/fantasy film directed by Clint Eastwood movie, took the fourth position as it ended the limited run and expanded to general showings this weekend. The Warner Bros. release added 12 million dollars in receipts to the 320,000 dollars it took in last weekend.

Rounding out the top 10 are:

-- No. 5: "The Social Network," Sony, 7.3 million dollars this weekend, 72.9 million dollars over four weeks;

-- No. 6: "Secretariat," Disney, 6.9 million dollars this weekend, 37.4 million dollars over three weeks;

-- No. 7: "Life As We Know It," Warner Bros., 6.2 million dollars this weekend, 37.6 million dollars over three weeks;

-- No. 8: "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole," Warner Bros., 3.2 million dollars this weekend, 50.2 million dollars over five weeks;

-- No. 9: "The Town," Warner Bros., 2.7 million dollars this weekend, 84.7 million dollars over six weeks; and

-- No. 10: "Easy A," Sony/Screen Gems, 1.8 million dollars this weekend, 54.8 million dollars over six weeks.