Friday saw a 17.6% decrease in box office revenue over the previous Friday.

1. Paranormal Activity - $7.6M
2. Saw VI - $7M
3. Where The Wild Things Are - $4.3M
4. Law Abiding Citizen - $4.1M
5. Couples Retreat - $3.6M
6. The Stepfather - $2.2M
7. Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant - $2.2M
8. Astro Boy - $1.8M
9. Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs - $1.4M
10. Zombieland - $1.3M

After taking the box office by storm in the past few weeks, the surprise hit of the year PARANORMAL ACTIVITY finally hit top spot this Friday with an estimated $7.6M. The horror flick has become a sensation, having earned $48M since opening in a handful of theatres only a month ago against a budget less than the cost of a car.

Late October has seen the traditional release of a Saw film and unfortunately for the latest entry SAW VI, it got chopped off at the knees by PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. The film earned an estimated $7M to take second place. As a comparison, previous entries have had double digit opening days. However, given the low budget of these films and this one included, it should see a return on investment by the end of the weekend.

Two other films opened on Friday: THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT and ASTRO BOY, neither of which did much business. The latter in particular has been universally panned and will likely be in the DVD sale bin shortly despite a certain amount of expectation.

Last Friday's number one film WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE dropped more than expected on its second Friday, earning an estimated $4.3M. This is not the best news given its $100M price tag. The film has earned an estimated $43.9M.

Stay tuned for a more comprehensive wrap-up of the weekend box office in North America for 23rd-25th October 2009.

The Top 10 at the North American box office took in an estimated total of $35.6 million for the whole of Friday 23rd October 2009.