Weekend box office (HWT, SCR)

By Paul Dergarabedian & Wiretap Staff

Universal makes this truly a weekend for couples at the movies as "Couples Retreat" capitalized on a great concept, a terrific trailer and a very likable cast to post the sixth best October debut ever with $35.34 million.

One of the cornerstones of the movie-going public, the date crowd, came out in force this weekend. As the only wide release opener, "Couples Retreat" was perfectly positioned to win the weekend with this better-than-expected performance.

In its second weekend, Sony's "Zombieland" earned another $15 million against an unusually low for the genre 39% drop. Its domestic total is now closing in on $50 million. The comedic elements of the film are enabling it to transcend the typical constraints of the horror genre.

At number three is Sony's family fall favorite, "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" with $12 million in its fourth weekend of release with a tiny, 24% drop and a total that will hit $100 million later this week.

Number four belongs to Disney's "Toy Story"/"Toy Story 2" double 3-D feature; with nearly $7.7 million, this successful re-release has added another $22.7 million to Buzz Lightyear's already substantial bank account.

Perhaps the most surprising story of the weekend is the number five film. Not since "The Blair Witch Project" has a small film captivated audiences in such a profound manner as Paramount's "Paranormal Activity."

It is almost shocking to look at the chart and see a film in just 160 theaters land in the Top 5 and with just over $7 million. This sets a new record for a film playing in fewer than 200 theaters and gives the film a whopping per-theater average of $44,163.

An effective viral campaign combined with the social networking sites and the Internet abuzz with how scary this film is, it is no wonder that the film has become the latest box-office phenomenon. It will be very interesting to see how this no budget film from an unknown filmmaker performs in the long run.

Overseas, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International's "Up" was back on top of Hollywood's overseas elite at the weekend thanks to an estimated $21 million haul that boosted the running total to $257.1 million, Screen reports.

The film now ranks as the studios' fifth biggest international release of 2009.

In what is the biggest animated launch of the year-to-date, "Up" debuted at number one in the UK with $9.7 million.

Back in the US, it was an up weekend as well. The eclectic mix of films drew audiences to theaters in big numbers resulting in an better turn out compared to the same frame last year reversing the trend of the past two down revenue weekends.

The best of both worlds scenario that the fall season offers moviegoers is paying off as evidenced by the success of both a major mainstream movie like "Couples Retreat" and the virally-inspired success of a film like "Paranormal Activity."