\'Paranormal Activity 4\' Leads Box Office

The “Paranormal Activity” horror series took a terrifying tumble over the weekend, as its fourth installment proved sharply less popular with North American ticket buyers than its franchise predecessor. “Paranormal Activity 4” (Paramount) took in about $30.2 million, or 42 percent less than “Paranormal Activity 3” managed over its first three days last year. Copycat movies, franchise fatigue and dismal reviews probably contributed to the result. Still, this movie only cost $5 million to make and took in an additional $26.5 million overseas, a stronger-than-expected tally.

“Argo” (Warner Brothers) was a robust second, taking in an estimated $16.6 million, for a two-week total of $43.2 million, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles box-office data. “Hotel Transylvania” (Sony) chugged along in third place, selling $13.5 million in tickets, for a four-week total of $119 million. Fourth place went to “Taken 2” (20th Century Fox), which brought in $13.4 million, for a three week total of about $106 million. Tyler Perry, experimenting with a role outside of his own movie factory, flopped with “Alex Cross,” which placed fifth, taking in about $11.8 million; Summit Entertainment released this crime mystery, which was independently produced, for about $22 million.