Earnings unreal for 'Paranormal Activity 3'

"Paranormal Activity 3" scared up absolutely unreal earnings in its premiere weekend, taking in more than $53 million at the North American box office, industry data showed Monday. The reheated, low-budget fright formula flick was red hot, with $52.6 million dollars in ticket sales between Friday and Sunday, industry monitor Exhibitor Relations reported. It bumped the boxing robots of "Real Steel" out of the top spot. The Disney hit for children starring Hugh Jackman took in $10.8 million in second place. A remake of the hit 1980s dance romp "Footloose" slipped to third place, with a haul of $10.4 million. A 3-D reimagination of Dumas' "Three Musketeers" was in fourth place with $8.7 million in its first weekend out, followed by political thriller "The Ides of March," starring George Clooney and Ryan Gosling, with $4.9 million at the box office. "Dolphin Tale," a feel-good family film starring Morgan Freeman about a boy who helps a dolphin get a prosthetic tail, netted $4.2 million this weekend, in sixth place, and $64.4 million to date. "Moneyball," a sports drama starring Brad Pitt as a baseball coach, was in the number seven spot, taking in $4 million, trailed by Rowan Atkinson-starring comedy "Johnny English Reborn" with $3.8 million in eighth. Sci-fi horror flick "The Thing," a prelude to the 1980s film of the same name, took in $3.1 million for ninth place. It came in just ahead of "50/50," a comedy about a 27-year-old man's battle against cancer starring Joseph Gordon Levitt and Seth Rogen, which earned $2.8 million.