"PARANORMAL ACTIVITY" DIRECTOR/WRITER OREN PELI IN TORONTO FOR "THE RIVER"

Oren Peli in Toronto - February 2012

Chances are you've seen at least one installment of the massively popular Paranormal Activity Franchise, but you might not know the face behind the success.  Israeli-American, Oren Peli has had a hand in either writing, producing or directing each of the four installments of Paramount Pictures Horror films and now is setting his sights to Television.  

Peli's new series The River (also co-produced by Steven Spielberg) premieres tomorrow - Tuesday, February 7, 2012 - as a two-hour episode on ABC and CTV in Canada, centering around Dr. Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood), an Explorer with a Television Show, who ventures to the Amazon.  Him and his Crew never return.  His Son Lincoln (Joe Anderson) and Wife Tess (Leslie Hope) get a little help in their cause to be reunited with Emmet, but will they ever find him and his Crew?  Also, what mysteries will they unravel in the Amazon?

Now kicking into high gear for promotion, Peli made a special appearance doing a Q&A at TIFF Bell Lightbox this evening before an intimate group, later attending a post-screening Reception.  The v. towering Producer/Writer/Director was super-friendly, taking time to pose for Photos with Fans in the Lobby, pleased at the many positive reactions.  The President of Bell Media, Kevin Crull could be heard praising The River as his favourite TV series since 24.

Click here to learn more about The River.

Oren Peli & Mr. Will-W.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W.)

"PUSS IN BOOTS" ON-TOP WITH A BOX OFFICE "HEIST"

Still from Tower Heist

In a rare occurrence, this weekend's Box Office Top Four actually have the positive reviews to match their success. For the second week in-a-row, Puss in Boots finds itself atop the Competition.  The Spin-off of the Shek Franchise earned $33.1 million and to-date, the Animated Feature has brought in $75.5 million.

Debuting in second with a respectable $25.1 million from 3,367 screens is Universal Pictures' Comedy Tower Heist starring Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller. The Film currently is sitting at a 69% rating on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer.

Debuting in third is Warner Bros.' A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas with $13.1 million. Surprisingly, the Comedy also has garnered fairly strong reviews with 72% on the Tomatometer.

Paranormal Activity 3 drops to fourth spot in its third week of release for Paramount Pictures with $8.5 million, just-ahead of Justin Timerblake-starring In Time for 20th Century Fox.

The Rum Diary starring Johnny Depp slips to eighth spot already in its second week with $2.9 million this weekend. Meanwhile, The Ides of March sits in ninth spot in its fifth week with $2.0 million, pushing its total run past the $36.6 million mark.

"PUSS IN BOOTS" DELIVERS THE TREATS ON HALLOWEEN WEEKEND

Still from Puss in Boots 3-D

Paramount Pictures makes it two-for-two with two separate Movies. Despite it being Halloween weekend, Families dictated the results at the Box Office this weekend with Shrek Spin-off Puss In Boots 3-D at the top of the tally with $34 million.  The Animated Feature has fared well among Critics also, with an 86% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Finishing behind in second is last week's champion Paranormal Activity 3 with $18.5 million, earning $81.3 million already in two weeks.

20th Century Fox debuts in third with Justin Timberlake-starring In Time with $12 million, debuting below expectations. Reviews haven't been strong for the Action/Drama, rating 36% on the Tomotometer at Rotten Tomatoes.

Another Paramount Film, Footloose (2011) slips to fourth spot with $5.5 million - a total run so far of $38.5 million in North America - just-ahead of Johnny Depp's latest Film The Rum Diary, based on the life of Hunter S. Thompson, with $5 million.

The Ides of March still is sitting in the Top Ten in eighth spot after four weeks of release, taking-in $2.7 million. To-date, it has brought in $33.5 million, while another TIFF 2011 Gala Premiere Moneyball is in ninth spot this weekend with $2.4 million in its sixth week.

“PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3” TORTURES COMPETITION AND MOVIEGOERS AT BOX OFFICE

Still from Paranormal Activity 3

Exceeding all expectations, Paranormal Activity 3 makes an absolute killing - pardon the pun - at the Box Office this weekend.  The Film tortured Moviegoers and its Competitors to the tune of $54 million for Paramount Pictures. Produced only for $5 million, the Horror was a hit overseas also, taking-in $26 million there too. Overall, we are looking at $80 million worldwide for the latest in the critically and commercially successful installment of this Franchise.

Disney is still going strong with Real Steel in second spot, taking-in $11 million in its third week, now accumulating $67 million total domestically and over $153 million worldwide. Footloose (2011) in its second weekend earns $10.8 million, good enough to keep it in third, now totaling $36 million worldwide for Paramount also.

The Three Musketeers, the big-budget first installment of the forthcoming series, earns $8.8 million in fourth spot domestically, which might seem disappointing.  Overseas though, it has performed quite well, earning $64.4 million already.

The Ides of March still is going steady for Sony Pictures and Alliance Films, taking-in $4.9 million this weekend in its third week, now earning $29.1 million; it has yet to open overseas.

Johnny English Reborn starring Rowan Atkinson is the latest follow-up in the Action-Comedy franchise.  Despite only debuting in eighth with $3.8 million this weekend, it has done extremely well overseas where it has made $104.5 million already. Meanwhile, The Thing (2011) slips to ninth in its second week with $3.1 million for Universal Pictures, earning $14 million total.

"SAW VII 3-D" THRILLS THE BOX OFFICE

Still from Saw VII 3-D

It's almost becoming too easy with its annual Halloween release, but Lionsgate's Saw VII 3-D, yes part VII, not only contains a lot of killing, but made a killing also.  The Horror flick took in an estimated $24.5 million from 2,808 screens this weekend. It is said that this will be the final installment in the series. We'll see about that.

Slipping to second is last weekend's Champion Paranormal Activity 2, which took in approximately $17 million. In two weeks, the sequel has made $66.5 million for one of the most profitable franchises in history for Paramount.

Surprisingly, Red is hanging tough still in third with $10.7 million. The film is still showing at 3,349 theatres, impressive considering it has actually been on illegal downloading sites for a couple weeks already.  Now who said studios were suffering from downloading?

Jackass 3-D although losing a bit of its edge with moviegoers, is still doing well in fourth spot with $8.5 million in its third week, putting it just past the $100 million mark domestically.

The Town in its seventh week is still in the Top Ten amazingly with $2 million earned this weekend and a total $87.6 million in its run so far. Congratulations, Ben Affleck!

Mr. Will-W.:Pop Maven favourite Conviction got its wide release finally this weekend in a paltry 565 theatres, earning $1.9 million in tenth spot. Despite some great reviews and tons of promotion, this one inexplicably still isn't connecting with moviegoers. Why?

"PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2" SCARES AWAY ITS RIVALS

Still from Paranormal Activity 2

Outdoing its predecessor which only was released a year ago, Paramount's Paranormal Activity 2 opened huge this weekend with an estimated total of $43.5 million from 3,216 theatres.  The film now holds the record as the highest grossing R-Rated Midnight Opening of all-time, raking in $6.3 million Thursday night, according to Nikki Finke at Deadline.  Paranormal Activity, made for only a budget of $15k, opened with $19.6 million last Fall and went on to earn $193.3 million worldwide.  Impressively, the film's sequel received fairly strong reviews also, with a 67% consensus at Rotten Tomatoes.

Last week's champion Jackass 3-D also from Paramount, slips to second with an estimated $21.5 million at the Box Office.  It opened last week with a spectacular $50 million and continues to perform strongly, as does Summit Entertainment's Action Flick Red filmed partly here in Toronto.  Red earned $15.2 million this weekend, bringing its domestic total to $43.6 million.

Clint Eastwood's Hereafter had an uncharacteristically weak opening in fourth spot for the iconic filmmaker, earning $12 million from 2,181 theatres.  The Warner Bros. film also is garnering mixed reviews from Critics, with a 51% rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

Audiences are still in-love with David Fincher's The Social Network which in its fourth week slips to fifth spot with $7.2 million based on early weekend numbers, putting it just ahead of Disney's Secretariat which is performing steadily, just now recouping its $35 million production budget.

MICHAEL JACKSON KILLS IT (FIGURATIVELY)!

Sony Pictures' Michael Jackson documentary This Is It made a killing - pardon the pun - at the Box Office this weekend. The film which follows Jackson's final 02 Arena rehearsals leading up to his planned comeback tour in London, earned $21 million this weekend and a total of $32.5 million since its mid-week release. Mighty impressive. The studio has yet to announce plans to extend its two-week cinematic run but thus far, reviews have been very positive. Hopefully I'll be able to make it out to the theatre to see it soon.

Studios were wise to stay away from releasing new films this weekend with Halloween festivities foreseeably cutting into ticket sales, but Paranormal Activity continues to astonish, pulling in $16.5 million this weekend. With just a $15,000 budget, this little engine who could has made a whopping $85 million in total. Oddly, there are "illegal" copies of the film floating around the internet, but this doesn't seem to have impacted ticket sales. Can the MPAA explain this paranormal activity?

Previous week releases Law Abiding Citizen ($7.3 million), Couples Retreat ($6.1 million), Where The Wild Things Are ($5.1 million) and Amelia ($3.0 million) all continue to perform respectably in this weekend's Top Ten.

WEEKEND OF HORROR

With a masterfully executed promotional strategy, Paramount Pictures scores big this weekend with Paranormal Activity, which I reviewed last week. It lands in the number one spot at the Box Office after a very steady climb and earned $22 million from 1,950 theatres.

It was a very competitive weekend for horror flicks with Saw VI, the latest installment in the popular Lionsgate Films franchise, debuting at number two with $15 million. This is the annual series' poorest showing in quite some time as previous installments debuted at number one. Perhaps this will queue the studio to quit it finally! Warner Bros.' Where The Wild Things Are continues to do well, now recovering back half of its production costs. The film took in a respectable $14 million in third place. Summit Entertainment's animated adaptation of popular cartoon Astro Boy. The film entered the Top Ten at number six earning $7 million, which is well below its $65 million budget. Expect this film to fare better internationally with its loyal worldwide following, as it has only seen a North American release thus far.

Also noteworthy was Fox Searchlight's Amelia starring Oscar winner Hilary Swank, which fared respectably coming in just shy of the Top Ten. The Amelia Earhart biopic, reviewed earlier this week, garnered $4 million from 800 theatres.

ONE WILD WEEKEND | REVIEW: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

Spike Jonze's $100 million opus Where The Wild Things Are performed extremely well this past weekend at the top of the box office, taking in $32.5 million. The Warner Brothers' film is an adaptation of the popular children's book of the same title with an all-star cast which includes Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker, Chris Cooper and newcomer Max Records in the starring role. The arthouse fantasy has been garnering some strong reviews overall with its main critique being that its tone is perhaps too dark to be a truly faithful adaptation to its original story.

Law Abiding Citizen headlined by the hunky duo of Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx also performed very well in second with $21.5 million in ticket sales. On any other weekend, this would've propelled it into top spot. The thriller has received some scathing reviews, citing that it includes some absurd storytelling, yet this still wasn't enough to deter moviegoers from getting their fix of Mancandy.

Closing out the top three was Paramount Pictures' Paranormal Activity which is easily this year's biggest sleeper hit. It continues to pull in some impressive numbers as it expands into more theatres. From just over 700 theatres alone this weekend, it earned $20.1 million in ticket sales. To put this into perspective, Law Abiding Citizen earned just over $1 million more having opened in 2,900 theatres.

Couples Retreat which slipped from first to fourth position this week, is still doing well enough bringing in $18 million this weekend. The Stepfather from Sony Screen Gems, which brought us the positively amazing Obsessed earlier this year, accounted for fifth spot with $12.3 million. Not bad considering it was made for $20 million. The film stars Gossip Girl hunk Penn Badgely and undoubtedly received a boost from that show's demographic of fans.

PARANORMAL WEEKEND

As expected, Universal Pictures' Couples Retreat collected alimony from movie goers this weekend taking in a whopping $35 million at the box office. The comedy boasts an all-star cast including Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman (!), Jon Favreau, Kristin Davis, Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell and more. I haven't had a chance to see it yet, but will do so tomorrow likely. Reviews are atrocious, but honestly, what were people expecting?

Last week's top film Zombieland is still hanging strong, pulling in a healthy $15 million in second. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs continues to impress in third in it's fourth week in the Top Ten at $13 million.

The most intriguing film in the Top Ten this weekend however, was Paramount Pictures' Paranormal Activity in fifth. The film expanded into only 159 theatres and made $7.1 million dollars, which is almost unheard of. This led me to look into this film further and I learned that it is a small budget horror flick with a cast of unknowns. It has gained its buzz mostly from the internet, as little advertising has been done otherwise. Reviews are almost all positive and it looks to be this year's big sleeper hit. May be worth checking out in time for Halloween.

I'm still rooting for Whip It to make its splash, although it doesn't look like the buzz is amounting to much, placing in eighth this weekend. It made $2.8 million, still not recovering half of its $15 million production budget in its second week. Oh well... I tried.

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!