US actor and film director Ben Affleck poses during the photocall of Argo at a hotel in Rome. -AFP Photo

LOS ANGELES: Haunted house movie “Paranormal Activity 4” crept into the No. 1 spot on weekend box office charts with $30.2 million in US and Canadian ticket sales, studio estimates released on Sunday showed.

The fourth installment in the low-budget horror series chronicles the strange events that happen in a neighborhood after a woman and her young child move in. The movie cost just $5 million to make.

“Paranormal Activity” finished ahead of Iran hostage drama “Argo,” which collected $16.6 million at domestic theaters from Friday through Sunday.

Directed by and starring Ben Affleck, the movie is based on the real-life rescue of US government employees from Iran in 1979. Receipts for “Argo” dropped 15 per cent from a week earlier.

The 3-D animated “Hotel Transylvania” captured third place with $13.5 million, just ahead of spy thriller “Taken 2,” which grabbed $13.4 million.

“Taken 2” stars Liam Neeson as a former spy who is kidnapped in Istanbul. “Taken 2” topped box office rankings the past two weekends.

Paramount Studios, a unit of Viacom Inc, released “Paranormal Activity 4.” “Argo” was distributed by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc. “Taken 2” was released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp.

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.