After two weeks of playing second fiddle to lesser movies Argo finally had its chance in the main spot light at the number one box office spot.
Dropping just 24% for a comparably strong third weekend Argo added $12 million to its $60 million domestic total. That puts the film on track to compete with The Town's $92 million as director Ben Affleck's top earning film.
Really pretty pictures and the promise of Tom Hanks outdoing himself by snagging all five Oscar nominations for best actor for parts played in a single movie (some still feel he was snubbed for the same achievement in Polar Express) were not enough to draw audiences out for Cloud Atlas. The movie reportedly cost over $100 million to produce but only took in $9 million for an embarrassing third place debut.
Most of the season's spooky and scary Halloween entries have already rolled out but this weekend there were still two more making their debut. Silent Hill: Revelation 3D opened at sixth place in a close race with month-old Taken 2. With a opening weekend of $8 million it made a poor showing compared to the first Silent Hill. That movie banked $20 million when it opened six years ago. The other Halloween themed newcomer, ill-conceived Fun Size, only took in $4 million, just barely making tenth place.
If you thought it wasn't possible for the train of box office losers to get any longer, you clearly missed the fact that Gerard Butler's new surf movie wasn't on the list. Coming in at 13th place with just $2 million, Chasing Mavericks didn't even get up on the board before floundering, leaving it to drown under its $20 million price tag.
For the full weekend top ten check out the chart below:
| 1. | Argo | $12,355,000 | Total: $60,780,000 | LW: 2 WR: 3 THTRS: 2,855 |
| 2. | Hotel Transylvania | $9,500,000 | Total: $130,434,000 | LW: 4 WR: 5 THTRS: 3,276 |
| 3. | Cloud Atlas * | $9,400,000 | Total: $9,400,000 | LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 2,008 |
| 4. | Paranormal Activity 4 | $8,675,000 | Total: $42,632,000 | LW: 1 WR: 2 THTRS: 3,412 |
| 5. | Taken 2 | $8,000,000 | Total: $117,389,000 | LW: 3 WR: 4 THTRS: 2,995 |
| 6. | Silent Hill: Revelation 3D * | $8,000,000 | Total: $8,000,000 | LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 2,933 |
| 7. | Here Comes the Boom | $5,500,000 | Total: $30,610,000 | LW: 7 WR: 3 THTRS: 2,491 |
| 8. | Sinister | $5,070,000 | Total: $39,515,000 | LW: 6 WR: 3 THTRS: 2,347 |
| 9. | Alex Cross | $5,050,000 | Total: $19,369,000 | LW: 5 WR: 2 THTRS: 2,541 |
| 10. | Fun Size * | $4,060,000 | Total: $4,060,000 | LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 3,014 |
