PREDICTED WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

As expected last week, Paranormal Activity 2, the sequel to last year's hit film Paranormal Activity, opened at number one. Surprisingly, the film took in about $41.5 million in its opening weekend, surpassing its modest $3 million budget and earning a profit of about $38.5 million. This weekend it will have some stiff competition from another popular horror film franchise, Saw 3D, as the seventh chapter in the series opens in theaters just in time for Halloween.

Predicted to debut at number one is the seventh and final chapter in the extremely successful horror film franchise, Saw. Saw 3D stars Tobin Bell (In the Line of Fire), Costas Mandylor (Soapdish), Betsy Russell (Chain Letter), Sean Patrick Flanery (The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day) and Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride). Currently the movie has an average rating of a 3.7 on our site. Out of the twenty-nine people who have rated the film, sixteen of them have given it five stars, while the trailer for the movie has had over 119,000 views. Here is what our official reviewer had to say about the new movie: "A gory and over the top film that will please hardcore fans but turn off anyone who is not obsessed with the horror genre. The movie fails to capitalize on the 3D effects and unfortunately does not quite live up to its predecessors." The movie is predicted to earn $25 million this weekend in its debut.

Predicted to fall one spot from its debut last week to number two is the sequel to last year's extremely popular psychological horror film, Paranormal Activity, Paranormal Activity 2 starring Katie Featherston. Last week the movie made $12,904 on each of its 3,216 screens for an opening weekend total of about $41.5 million. Considering that the movie only cost about $3 million to make, the filmmakers must have been extremely pleased with an opening weekend profit of about $38.5 million. The movie is predicted to earn an additional $20.1 million this weekend.

Predicted to drop one place from last week to number three is the third installment of the film adaptation of the popular MTV reality series Jackass, Jackass 3D. In the film, Johnny Knoxville (The Dukes of Hazzard) returns for punishment along with his friends Bam Margera, Steve-O, Chris Pontius and Jason Acuña. While the movie dropped nearly 57.1% last week from the week before, it was added in thirty theaters, earning $6,943 on each of its 3,111 screens for a weekend total of about $21.6 million. In just two weeks the movie has already made $87.1 million, surpassing its $20 million production budget and earning a profit of over $60 million. The movie is predicted to earn an additional $12.5 million this weekend.

Predicted to slip one spot from last week to number four is the new action-comedy Red. The movie is based on the graphic novel by Warren Ellis and stars an all-star cast that includes Emmy winners Bruce Willis (Live Free or Die Hard) and Mary-Louise Parker (Red Dragon), Oscar winners Morgan Freeman (The Dark Knight), Helen Mirren (National Treasure: Book of Secrets), Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws) and Ernest Borgnine (Escape From New York), Oscar nominee John Malkovich (Jonah Hex), Karl Urban (Star Trek), Julian McMahon (Fantastic Four) and Brian Cox (X2: X-Men United). While the movie dropped nearly 31.1% last week from the previous week, it was added in eighteen theaters, earning $4,583 on each of its 3,273 screens for a weekend total of about $15 million. Now in just two weeks the film has made about $43 million, which is still shy of earning back its entire $58 million production budget. But the movie is predicted to earn an additional $10.4 million this weekend, which will put it a little closer to earning back its initial production cost.

Rounding off the top five this week and predicted to fall one spot back from last week is the new film from Oscar winning director Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino) called Hereafter. The film stars Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity), Bryce Dallas Howard (Spider-Man 3) and Jay Mohr (Go). The movie rose an incredible 5,348.8% last week from the week before and was added in 2,175 theaters, earning $5,504 on each of its 2,181 screens for a weekend total of about $12 million. Combined with what it earned in limited release the previous week, the film has now made about $12.3 million in two weeks, which is still no where near earning back its initial $50 million production budget. The movie is predicted to earn an additional $8.2 million this weekend.

The rest of the top ten films at the box office this weekend are predicted to look like this:

Predicted to drop one place from last week to number six is the new film from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button director David Fincher called The Social Network. The movie, which is about the founding of Facebook stars a cast of excellent young actors that includes Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland), Andrew Garfield (Never Let Me Go), Rooney Mara (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Rashida Jones (I Love You, Man) and Justin Timberlake (Alpha Dog). While the movie dropped nearly 29.2% last week from the previous week, it was actually added on fifty-three screens and earned $2,499 on each of its 2,921, for a weekend total of $7.3 million. Now in just under a month the movie has made $72.9 million, which earns back its entire $50 million production budget and then some. The movie is predicted to earn an additional $7.8 million this weekend.

Predicted to slip one spot from last week to number seven is Walt Disney Pictures new sports film Secretariat, based on the true story of the triple-crown winning racehorse. The film stars Oscar nominees Diane Lane (Unfaithful), John Malkovich (In the Line of Fire) and James Cromwell (Babe), as well as Dylan Walsh (Nip/Tuck), Kevin Connolly (Entourage), Fred Dalton Thompson (Die Hard 2: Die Harder) and Scott Glenn (The Hunt for Red October). While the movie dropped nearly 24.9% last week from the week before, it earned $2,253 on each of its 3,108 screens, for a weekend total of $7 million. Now in just over three weeks the movie has already made $37.4 million, which earns back its entire $35 million production budget. The movie is predicted to earn an additional $5 million this weekend.

Predicted to fall one place from last week to number eight this is the new romantic comedy about parenting called Life as We Know It. The film stars Katherine Heigl (Killers), Josh Duhamel (When in Rome), Josh Lucas (Hulk), Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) and Jean Smart (Garden State). While the movie dropped nearly 31.5% last week from the previous week, it earned $2,033 on each of its 3,019 for a weekend total of $6.1 million. In a little over three weeks the movie has already made $37.6 million, which is still just shy of earning back its entire $38 million production budget. But the movie is predicted to earn an additional $4.2 million this weekend, which should allow it to finally break even.

Predicted to slip one place from last week to number nine is the latest film from visionary director Zack Snyder (Watchmen, Dawn Of The Dead) called Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. The computer animated film about a group of heroic owls stars an all-star cast of voice actors including Oscar winners Helen Mirren (The Queen) and Geoffrey Rush (Shine) as well as Hugo Weaving (The Matrix), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom), Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Jim Sturgess (21), Emilie de Ravin (Lost) and Abbie Cornish (Sucker Punch). While the movie dropped nearly 23.2% last week from the week before, it actually earned roughly $1,453 on each of its 2,236 screens for a weekend total of $3.2 million. To date, the movie has earned only $50 million, which is just over half of the film's $80 million production budget. The movie is predicted to earn an additional $3.9 million this weekend.

Finally, predicted to fall one spot back from last week to number ten is the latest film from actor turned director Ben Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), which is already earning Oscar buzz called The Town. The bank robbery film that takes place in Boston stars a stellar cast of actors which in addition to Affleck himself includes Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Blake Lively (Gossip Girl), Rebecca Hall (Please Give) and Oscar winner Chris Cooper (Adaptation). While the movie dropped nearly 30.9% last week from the week before, it earned roughly $1,433 on each of its 1,918 screens for a weekend total of $2.7 million. Now in a month and a half, the movie has made a little over $84 million, which earns back its entire $37 million production budget and then some. The movie is predicted to earn an additional $2.7 million this weekend. Be sure to check out Box Office Beat Down this Sunday to see who is crowned the King of the box office this week and check back here next week for more box office predictions!