Michael Jackson delivers posthumous thriller

Saturday, November 21, 2009 11:59 PM

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AFP

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

LOS ANGELES, USA (AFP) - Michael Jackson delivered a posthumous thriller at the North American box office this weekend as the movie of his aborted comeback This Is It, took top spot, final figures showed yesterday.

The acclaimed film - put together from footage of Jackson rehearsing for a series of London concerts due to start just a few weeks after his death - scooped US$23.2 million, figures from Exhibitor Relations showed.

The movie took US$34.4m in its first five days of release as fans scrambled to get one last glimpse of the King of Pop, whose sudden deathin June triggered a global outpouring of tributes.

The Jackson film was given a clear run at the box office at the weekend as other major studios opted against going head-to-head with This Is It on Halloween weekend.

In second place was micro-budgeted supernatural thriller Paranormal Activity, which continued its strong performance with US$16.4m. The movie - made for just US$11,000 -has now earned a staggering US$84.6m since its release.

Law Abiding Citizen, a thriller about a man determined to avenge the deaths of his slain family, moved up to the number three spot with US$7.4m.

It was trailed by a former number-one Couples Retreat, starring comic favourites Vince Vaughn and Jason Bateman, now in fourth place with US$6.5m.

Where the Wild Things Are, director Spike Jonze's live-action rendering of the beloved children's book of the same name, was fifth with 5.9m, ahead of horror film Saw VI, sixth with US$5.3m.

In seventh spot, with US$3.5m was Astro Boy, a 3-D animated feature about a futuristic robot who first came to life in the 1950s as a character in the Japanese science fiction manga series of the same name.

The Stepfather, a remake of a 1987 thriller, earned US$3.2m to finish eighth.

Teen vampire vehicle, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, based on a popular young adult book franchise, brought in US$3.1m at number nine while, Amelia, a film about aviatrix Amelia Earhart starring Oscar-winner Hilary Swank, reaped US$3.03m to round out the top 10.