Paranormal Activity

In the Cold Light of Day is also available on DVD this week.

Seven Psychopaths

Colin Farrell is Marty, a struggling screenwriter trying to come up with the next big script. Though he's on the straight-and-narrow, Marty gets dragged into a web of criminal activity by his eccentric friend Bill (Sam Rockwell). Bill and his partner (Christopher Walken) run a dog-stealing racket, and when they steal from the wrong guy (Woody Harrelson), the consequences turn out to be dire — also, pretty funny. It's a wacky premise, but it makes for a good time, especially thanks to Walken's performance. Featurettes are included with the DVD.

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Hotel Transylvania

Adam Sandler leads an all-star voice cast as Count Dracula, founder of a hidden getaway for supernatural creatures. On his daughter Mavis's (Selena Gomez's) 118th birthday, he invites a whole host of monsters up to the resort to celebrate. Things take a turn when a human (Andy Samberg) shows up at the front door and falls for Mavis. The family film is imaginative enough for kids, but adults may be underwhelmed. The DVD comes with a minimovie, deleted scenes, commentary, and a music video.

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One more new release when you read more

Ready to ring in the New Year with a few movies to watch at home? I've got some fresh picks for you — and more than one is perfect for a good scare!

Paranormal Activity

If you're anything like me, then you might have been intrigued, but too terrified to see Paranormal Activity in theaters. Now that it's on DVD, perhaps you'll feel braver about checking out the Blair Witch Project-esque film that features "lost" footage of a couple as they are tormented by other-worldly elements in their home. The movie had one of the most successful viral marketing campaigns of all time earlier this year, so it might be worth checking out just to finally see for yourself what all your friends have been talking about.

DVD extras include an alternate ending and a downloadable digital copy of the film.

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See two more releases when you read more

Plenty of movies get made and shelved every year, but once in awhile a little gem of a film gets a big break. This year's unexpected success story belongs to Paranormal Activity. The horror film was actually made in 2007, on a budget of $15,000. It premiered at a few film festivals before hitting the theaters in September in limited release — but not for long.

In the spirit of The Blair Witch Project, the film shows fictional "forgotten footage" of a couple who are being haunted by paranormal forces. It was initially released in 13 different college towns across the country, but then the power of viral marketing set in. Director Orson Peli let America decide whether or not the movie should come to their home towns by letting them vote on Eventful.com. The plan worked, and each week the movie was shown on more and more screens across the nation.

To recap what happened, just read more

Disney received an early present this year: The revamped version of the classic tale A Christmas Carol took the top spot at the box office in its opening weekend with $31 million. While that figure is on the low end of studio estimates for the film, insiders hope that it will continue to gain more movie-goers as we near the holidays. Following behind at No. 2 was last weekend's box office champ, Michael Jackson's This Is It, with $14 million.

Rounding out the rest of the top five were two more new releases — The Men Who Stare at Goats came in third with $13.3 million, and Milla Jovovich's The Fourth Kind took fourth place with $12.5 million. Fan favorite Paranormal Activity slipped to No. 5 with $8.6 million.

The small success story of the weekend was Precious, which raked in $1.8 million despite only opening in 18 theaters. Expect to see it climb up the box office chart next week as it expands into more cities.

All hail the King of Pop: posthumous Michael Jackson documentary This Is It landed at the top of the box office this weekend, raking in $21.3 million in its first weekend in theaters.

Last week's number one, Paranormal Activity, bowed to the king and fell to number two with $16.5 million. In third place was the Gerard Butler thriller Law Abiding Citizen with a haul of $7.3 million, while Couples Retreat and Saw VI came in at fourth and fifth with respective gains of $6 million and $5.5 million.

Talk about a shocker! The low-budget underdog Paranormal Activity has been riding its growing popularity all the way to the top — even upsetting the reigning king of horror, the Saw franchise. Paranormal took in $22 million in its first weekend with a wide release, which has execs talking about a possible sequel. Saw VI trailed at No. 2 with only $14.8 million — the worst opening ever for a Saw film.

Completing the rest of the top five was last week's biggest moneymaker, Where the Wild Things Are, which dropped to No. 3 with $14.4 million, followed by Law Abiding Citizen at No. 4 with $12.7 million, and Couples Retreat at No. 5 with $11 million. (The box office newcomers Cirque du Freak and Amelia placed No. 8 and No. 11, respectively.)

Well, the numbers speak for themselves — people love a Vince Vaughn movie. I was admittedly lukewarm about Couples Retreat, but that didn't stop it from cashing in at the box office. The ensemble comedy took in $35.3 million, making it the first big hit for Universal after a lackluster Summer. Last week's winner Zombieland dropped to No. 2 with $15 million, at No. 3 was Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs with $12 million, and the double feature of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D followed behind with $7.6 million.

Rounding out the top five was the real champion of the weekend, Paranormal Activity. I had heard the indie was one of the most terrifying flicks in a long time, and now it's broken records by taking in over $7 million in ticket sales — even though it played in less than 200 theaters and only cost a reported $15,000 to make. Paramount expanded the release of this little-engine-that-could after an onslaught of online demands from fans. (Perhaps it deserves a spot on my scary movie bracket, too!)

Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures

Paranormal Activity, out today, is a scary movie in the vein of The Blair Witch Project in that it seems to be filmed by the characters in the movie. The characters are a couple who start experiencing some eerie happenings in their hotel room and decide to film it, and word is, it's the most terrifying movie in a long time.

Confession: I'm a bit of a 'fraidy cat, but I love a good thriller with an enthralling plot, which is why I might see this movie (OK, I might wait for it to come to DVD when I can hide behind a blanket in my home, but whatevs). I eat up movies where the scares are based on genuine thrills, but that's as far as I go.

When it comes to the horror genre, though, I'm averse. Gore doesn't scare me in that fun way — it grosses me out and gives me nightmares. However, I know plenty of people who live for the grossest, ickiest, slice-and-dice horror flicks (I'm looking at you, FabSugar). But for me, the Scream movies are the goriest I go — and yes, I'll be seeing Scream IV opening day. Which kinds of scary movies do you prefer?

P.S. Speaking of the most terrifying move ever, I might be asking your opinion about that very thing . . . very, very soon. Stay tuned.