Weekend Box Office: October 15-17

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  Jackass 3D - $50 million

2.  Red - $22.5 million

3.  The Social Network - $11 million

4.  Secretariat - $9.5 million

5.  Life as We Know It - $9.2 million

6.  Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole - $4.2 million

7.  The Town - $4 million

8.  My Soul to Take - $3.1 million

9.  Easy A - $2.6 million

10.  Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps - $2.3 million

Did anyone see that one coming?  Jackass 3D broke October box office records this weekend (no doubt helped by the 3D screenings this time around), opening with $50 million.  That easily tops the $48 million opening for Scary Movie 3 in 2003, which previously held the October opening weekend record.

Also opening well this weekend as the action comedy Red, which opened with $22.5 million, giving Summit Entertainment their first non-Twilight big opening weekend. 

David Fincher's The Social Network drops to third place this weekend with $11 million, putting its total domestic gross at an impressive $63 million after just three weeks.  Switching places from last weekend, Disney's Secretariat landed in fourth place with $9.5 million (a drop of only 25%), while the Katherine Heigl comedy Life As We Know It came in just behind it with $9.2 million.

Legend of Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole comes in sixth place with $4.2 million, bringing its total to an a still-underwhelming $46 million.  Warner Bros must be really relieved that they've got a Harry Potter movie coming out next month, and that Ben Affleck's The Town has had such a great run, adding another $4 million this weekend to bring its total to an impressive $80 million.

Wes Craven's My Soul to Take did the expected second weekend nosedive for a horror film, dropping 53% to earn only $3.1 million.  The film has grossed just $11.9 million.  Easy A continues its terrific run, earning $2.6 million to bring its total to $52 million.  Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps just hangs on in tenth place with $1.3 million.  The sequel has grossed just $47 million after four weeks in theaters.

Clint Eastwood's Hereafter earned $231,000 in just six theaters in New York and Los Angeles.  That bodes well for when it opens wide next weekend, when its main competition will be Paranormal Activity 2.  We'll stayed tuned to see which take on the afterlife scores with audiences next weekend.