'Paranormal Activity 2' Scares its Way to #1 at the Box Office

The news is good for Paranormal Activity 2 as it entered theaters at the top of this weekend's box office. The highly-anticipated follow-up to the low-budget 2007 horror smash stuck to the practical effects and improvisational style of its predecessor. The movie continues the series' tradition of pulling in major bucks as well, making $41.5 million since landing in theaters Friday.  Not too shabby for a film that only cost $3 million to make.

The combination of being released in close proximity to Halloween and the lack of good horror flicks recently had to propel Paranormal 2 to the top. 

It also set the record for the largest three-day opening for a horror film, creeping past Friday the 13th‘s $40.6 million tally from last year. Although Paranormal 2 dropped 35 percent from Friday to Saturday, the haunted-house flick got enough people to storm out of their homes and into movie theaters for a whopping $20.1 million on Friday (including $6.3 million from Thursday midnight showings). The movie also easily surpassed its predecessor’s wide-release opening of $21.1 million.

According to Paramount, 61 percent of the audience was less than 25 years old, that usually means success for a horror movie.  How lonf until we see Paranormal 3?