'Saw 3D' brings bloodfest to Halloween boxoffice

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North American moviegoers spent Halloween weekend getting spooked as blood-soaked horrorfest "Saw 3D" booted thriller "Paranormal Activity 2" out of the box office lead, industry estimates said.

"Saw 3D," the seventh film of the "Saw" franchise about a serial killer and his apprentices, earned 24 million dollars in its first week in theaters, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations figures showed Sunday.

Bumped into second place was "Paranormal Activity 2," which claims to show ghosts caught on nannycams. It earned 16.5 million dollars, for a total take of 65.7 million over two weeks.

"Red," a spy thriller with a marquee cast including Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren, remained in third place, after earning 10.8 million dollars.

Johnny Knoxville's "Jackass 3D" took the fourth spot with 8.4 million in ticket sales. The slapstick stunt comedy movie has earned 101.6 million in three weeks in release.

Matt Damon's "Hereafter," a dovetailing drama about three lives touched by death directed by Clint Eastwood, was in fifth place with 6.3 million.

In sixth place was Disney's "Secretariat," about the horse by the same name that won the Triple Crown, took in five million dollars.

Critically acclaimed Facebook drama "The Social Network" earned 4.7 million dollars for seventh place and a total take of 79.7 million over five weeks in theaters.

"Life As We Know It," a romantic comedy based on the not-so-funny premise of two singles being thrust into the role of parents after their best friends die in a car crash, took in 4.1 million dollars for an eighth place finish.

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Ben Affleck's bank-heist drama "The Town" earned another two million dollars to bring its seven-week total to 87.7 million.

In tenth place was "Conviction," a drama based on a true story starring Oscar-winner Hilary Swank as a woman who earned a law degree to free her wrongly convicted brother. The film earned 1.8 million dollars for a two-week total of 2.4 million.

Animated "Legend of the Guardians" and "Easy A" rounded out the top 12 with 1.7 million and 1.1 million dollars, respectively.