Favorable word of mouth boosted attendance at theaters showing the Michael Jackson concert documentary This Is It! on Sunday, pushing the total box office to $23.2 million, up from an original estimate of $21.3 million. (The movie has earned $34.4 million since opening on Tuesday night.) Final results for foreign screenings also proved to be higher than originally estimated -- by about $1 million. Total worldwide results for the movie stands at $103.9 million as of Sunday. The mini-budget Paranormal Activity also performed strongly, raking in $16.4 million in its third week of wide release. It has now taken in $84.6 million since opening in a handful of college towns six weeks ago. Overall, the domestic box-office tallied $82.9 million, up 12 percent from $74 million for the comparable weekend a year ago, when High School Musical 3 led with $15.3 million. Revenue for the year stands at $8.3 million, up 7.68 percent from last year's $7.08 million.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Box Office Mojo (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date) 1. Michael Jackson's This Is It, Sony, $23,234,394, 1 Wk., $34,442,926 (From Tuesday); 2. Paranormal Activity , Paramount, $16,387,327, 6 Wks., ($84,627,372); 3. Law Abiding Citizen, Overture Films, $7,403,630, 3 Wks., ($51,485,280); 4. Couples Retreat, Universal, $6,460,525, 4 Wks., ($87,026,280); 5. Where the Wild Things Are, Warner Bros., ($5,931,417, 3 Wks., ($62,650,379); 6. Saw VI, Lionsgate, $5,270,794, 2 Wks., ($22,534,749); 7. Astro Boy, Summit Ent. $3,460,651, 2 Wks., ($11,316,418); 8. The Stepfather, Sony, $3,207,792, 3 Wks., ($24,555,801); 9. Cirque Du Freak The Vampire's Assistant, Universal, $3,098,185, 2 Wks., ($10,809,975); 10. Amelia, Fox Searchlight, $3,034,667, 2 Wks., ($8,340,499).

03/11/2009