"Paranormal Activity 3" Scares Up Box Office Victory

Spooking up a top-earning spot as it made its way into theaters, "Paranormal Activity 3" wiped out the competition at the box office over the weekend of October 21-23, 2011.

The third offering in the horror genre film raked in a powerful $26.2 million on Friday followed by $18.2 million on Saturday while expected to garner a franchise best $55 million opening weekend total.

Settling for runner-up position after spending two weeks in the pole position was Hugh Jackman's "Real Steel" - with the DreamWorks/Disney picture conjuring up $3 million on Friday and another $4.9 million on Saturday to pace towards a weekend take of $10.9 million.

Rounding out the top five at the box office in estimated weekend totals were the Julianne Hough/Kenny Wormald led classic remake "Footloose" ($10.5 million), followed by poorly performing newcomer "The Three Musketeers 3D" ($8.8 million) and George Clooney's political thriller "The Ides of March" ($5.1 million).