LOS ANGELES -- The fourth "Paranormal Activity" fright flick crept into the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office with $30.2 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales.

Iran hostage thriller "Argo" earned $16.6 million and took second place, studio estimates released on Sunday showed. Two-time box office leader "Taken 2" fell to the No. 4 spot with $13.4 million from Friday through Sunday.

Low-budget "Paranormal Activity 4" opened short of distributor Paramount's projection for at least $35 million in domestic receipts during the movie's leadoff weekend. The film also trailed its predecessor in the haunted house series. The third "Paranormal" rung up $53 million in its debut last October.

But with millions more from international markets, the fourth installment already had grossed far more than its tiny production budget of $5 million.

"We're thrilled," said Don Harris, Paramount's president of domestic distribution. "It was in a slightly more crowded market than a year."

The strong showing for the film bodes well for more to follow.

"It is highly likely that we will do another," he added.

The new "Paranormal" chronicles the strange events that haunt a neighborhood after a woman and her young son move in. As in the earlier films, the movie uses a "found footage" style by capturing mysterious encounters with invisible forces on surveillance cameras.

The franchise produced by Jason Blum has brought in big bucks since the original hit theaters in 2009. The first three "Paranormal" films grabbed $577 million in global ticket sales. Each movie was produced for $5 million or less.

Receipts for "Argo" dropped 15 percent from a week earlier. The movie has earned glowing reviews from critics and a rare "A+" grade from audiences polled by CinemaScore.

"Argo" is based on the real-life rescue of U.S. government employees from Iran in 1979 under the guise of a fake movie production. Ben Affleck directs and stars in the film.

In fourth place, "Taken 2" stars Liam Neeson as a former spy who is kidnapped in Istanbul. The action film has grossed $105.9 million through three weekends.

In the No. 3 slot, family movie "Hotel Transylvania" pulled in $13.5 million at North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters. Global sales for the animated film reached $119 million through Sunday.

"Alex Cross" starring Tyler Perry debuted in fifth place with $11.7 million domestically, was on the mark with the predictions by distributor Summit Entertainment.

The movie features Perry outside of the popular comedic role of Madea that he created. In "Alex Cross," the actor plays a psychologist and homicide detective in hot pursuit of a serial killer played by Matthew Fox. The film is based on the character at the center of a series of best-selling crime novels by James Patterson.

Paramount Studios, a unit of Viacom Inc released "Paranormal Activity 4." "Argo" was distributed by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc. "Taken 2" was released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp. Sony Corp's film studio released "Hotel Transylvania."

"Alex Cross" was distributed by Summit Entertainment, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment, in the United States. Entertainment One released "Alex Cross" in Canada.

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Box office revenues soared 58 percent over a year ago thanks to a handful of films that overperformed, led by Liam Neeson action pic "Taken 2" and Ben Affleck's awards darling "Argo."

From 20th Century Fox and EuropaCorp, "Taken 2" grossed $22.5 million from 3,706 theaters in its second weekend to stay at No. 1. An unqualified hit, the pic has now earned $86.8 million domestically and $132.8 million internationally for a worldwide total of $220 million -- just shy of the $226.8 million earned by the first "Taken" in its entire run.

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"Argo," from Warner Bros., grossed a strong $20.1 million from 3,232 locations in its debut to easily take the No. 2 spot. The critically acclaimed film surged 47 percent from Friday to Saturday as moviegoers flocked to see the period political thriller, about the rescue of six Americans during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.

Affleck both directed and stars in the $44 million film, which received a glowing A+ CinemaScore, guaranteeing a long run for the film throughout awards season.

The movie's opening weekend was fueled by older moviegoers -- 93 percent of the audience was over the age of 25, and 52 percent over the age of 50 -- but Warners is confident the audience will expand. In terms of gender, 54 percent were females.

"Good movies rise to the occasion. Both 'The Town' (also directed by Affleck) and 'Gran Torino' played older initially and then turned into four-quadrant movies," Warners president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman said.

Based on the true story of the rescue of six Americans hiding out at the Canadian Embassy during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, "Argo" also headlines Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and John Goodman. The film chronicles how the Americans were able to escape Iran after the CIA and specialist Tony Mendez, played by Affleck, staged a fake movie production as a cover.

GK Films and Smokehouse, George Clooney and Grant Heslov's former production company, produced "Argo."

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Summit Entertainment's pre-Halloween pic "Sinister" also overperformed, taking the No. 3 spot with $18.3 million from 2,527 theaters. The pic is the most profitable of the weekend, considering it cost under $3 million to make.

The R-rated "Sinister" marks another victory for uber horror producer Jason Blum and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones' Automatik, a joint venture between IM Global and Alliance. They produced alongside the film's writer and director, Scott Derrickson ("The Exorcism of Emily Rose"). The film stars Ethan Hawke as a true-crime writer whose family is plunged into danger after he finds a box of gruesome home movies.

"Whenever you overperform industry expectations, it's always a nice thing," Lionsgate executive president of distribution David Spitz.

Sinister, receiving a C+ CinemaScore, common for a horror film, skewed slightly male (54 percent), while two-thirds of the audience was between the ages of 18 and 34.

Sony's animated hit "Hotel Transylvania" showed no signs of slowing down in its third weekend as it jumped the $100 million mark, grossing $17.3 million to come in No. 4. The film's domestic cume is $102.2 million; internationally, it's also overperforming and has grossed $49.3 million through Sunday from a total of 24 markets.

"'Hotel Transylvania' is performing beyond anyone's imagination, and the holds are ridiculous. It exceeds expectations in every new market it opens in," Sony president of worldwide distribution Rory Bruer said.

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"Hotel Transylvania" even beat new Sony family comedy "Here Comes the Boom," starring Kevin James (also a voice lead in "Hotel Transylvania") and Salma Hayek. The pic, produced by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison, grossed a soft $12 million from 3,014 theaters to place No. 5. The film did receive an A CinemaScore.

CBS Films' dark comedy "Seven Psychopaths," only opening in 1,480 locations, slightly underperformed in grossing $4.3 million to place No. 9. A favorite on the festival circuit, the pic stars Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken and Abbie Cornish.

Saturday's live broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera's "L'Elisir d'Amore" placed No. 10 with $2.3 million from 900 theaters. The broadcast kicks off the seventh season of "The Met: Live in HD" program.

Summit's specialty pic "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" placed No. 11 as it expanded into a total of 726 theaters, grossing $2.2 million for a pleasing cume of $6.2 million.

Conservative offering "Atlas Shrugged: Part II" came in No. 12 in its debut, grossing $1.7 million from 1,071 theaters.

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Sequel "Taken 2" stormed to the top of the North American box office with a record-breaking $50 million debut, more than double the original 2009 film and marking more good news for Liam Neeson. It also helped drive up ticket sales 43 percent over the same weekend last year.

From 20th Century Fox and EuropaCorp, the action pic also did plenty of damage overseas, where it grossed $55 million from its first 27 markets for a worldwide opening of $105 million.

In North America, "Taken 2" nabbed the best-ever October opening for a PG-13 film and the third showing best overall after "Paranormal Activity 3" ($52.6 million) and "Jackass 3D" ($50.4 million), both rated R.

"Taken 2" opens almost two years after "Taken" transformed into a sleeper box-office hit, revitalizing Neeson's career and grossing $226.8 million globally after opening domestically to $24.7 million in early January 2009.

The sequel returns Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen as the daughter and ex-wife of Neeson's character, Bryan Mills. This time out, the story is set in Istanbul, where Janssen's character is kidnapped and the daughter goes on the run. Luc Besson reteamed with Robert Mark Kamen to write the script, while Olivier Megaton replaces Pierre Morel in the director's chair.

"People love Liam, and identify with this character and his drive to protect his family at all costs," Fox president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson said.

Late night moviegoing has been sluggish since the Aurora theater shooting in late July, but "Taken 2" proved an exception as it grossed $1.5 million in Thursday midnight runs and enjoyed strong 10 p.m. shows on Friday and Saturday.

"Taken 2," receiving a B+ CinemaScore, played to a broad audience despite being ravaged by critics. Males made up 52 percent of the those buying tickets, while females made up 48 percent. Agewise, 56 percent of the audience was over the age of 25, and 44 percent under.

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Fox -- which only distributed "Taken" -- made "Taken 2" with Besson's EuropaCorp and is distributing the film in most parts of the world.

Holdover "Hotel Transylvania" stayed strong in its second weekend, grossing in the $27 million range for a domestic cume north of $76 million. The 3-D kids pic, also helping to fuel the domestic box office recovery, is turning in the top performance ever for Sony Pictures Animation.

"Hotel Transylvania" grossed $13.1 million overseas from 22 markets, bringing the film's global cume to $105.3 million.

Universal's female-fueled musical comedy placed a solid No. 3, grossing north of $14 million as it expanded nationwide for a domestic cume of $21.6 million.

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The modestly-budgeted "Pitch Perfect," which cost $17 million to make and opened in limited release last weekend to spark word of mouth, stars Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow. The film was co-financed by Universal and Paul Brooks' GoldCircle Films. Brooks produced alongside Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman.

"We're very happy with the film's performance. We had great momentum going into the weekend, and we are on the road to profitability," said Universal president of domestic distribution Nikki Rocco.

Pitch Perfect received an A CinemaScore, while more than 80 percent of the audience were females. More than 60 percent of the audience was under the age of 30.

The news wasn't so good for Tim Burton’s 3-D black-and-white, stop-motion animated "Frankenweenie,"  which debuted to $11.5 million, well less than the $15 million to $20 million that Disney had hoped for. The pic, hurt by the continued strength of "Hotel Transylvania," only managed a fifth-place finish.

"Frankenweenie" -- an homage to author Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" -- is a remake of Burton's 1984 short film about a boy who brings his dog back to life with unintended consequences. The film garnered glowing reviews, and a B+ CinemaScore.

Disney, which produced the film for $39 million, believes word of mouth will be strong heading into the Halloween stretch, resulting in a steady flow of moviegoers. Of those turning out opening weekend, 56 percent were families, while 32 percent were couples.

"Because of the stop-motion and the black and white, the casual moviegoer might need permission to see this film," said Disney executive vice president of distribution Dave Hollis.

"Frankenweenie" did solid business in Imax theaters, which accounted for $1.3 million in business domestically (the film begins rolling out overseas next weekend).

In its second weekend, "Looper," the twisty time-travelling movie starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis, from Sony's TriStar, FilmDistrict and Endgame, ranked fourth as it collected an estimated $12 million for a 10-day domestic cume of $40 million.

Lee Daniels' "The Paperboy" got off to a sluggish start at the specialty box office, despite a high-profile cast that includes Nicole Kidman, John Cusack, Zac Efron and Matthew McConaughey. Produced by Nu Image/Millennium and distributed by Millennium Entertainment, the film grossed $110,033 from 11 theaters for a location average of $10,033.

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Liam Neeson in "Taken 2."

REVIEW: A sequel to the 2008 action thriller "Taken" was probably inevitable, given that movie's astonishing success worldwide -- a take of $225 million for an outlay of barely one-tenth that amount. The makers of "Taken 2" have stuck as close as possible to the original formula: the same actors, the same high-octane mixture of violence and pursuit, the same assertion of family values. The location has shifted from Paris to Istanbul, but otherwise "Taken 2" could virtually pass for a remake. With more funds to lavish on production values and this time the advantage of a precedent, there's every prospect of similar causes leading to similar effects at the box-office.

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Liam Neeson reprises his role as the retired CIA operative and concerned parent Bryan Mills while Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen re-enlist as his daughter Kim and ex-wife Lenore respectively. The story hinges on revenge rather than rescue. Writers Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen (who also scripted "Taken") reference the earlier movie in an opening hill-top burial scene where Albanian clan chief Murad Krasniqi (Rade Sherbedgia) vows to avenge Mills' killing of his son, the head of a human trafficking ring who had had the bad idea of making off with Kim. His plans are given a boost when Mills -- ill-advisedly, as it soon proves -- invites Kim and Lenore to spend some holiday time with him in Istanbul where his private security firm has just completed a deal with a wealthy sheikh. One car-chase later, and it's Mills' and Lenore's turn to be "taken," while Kim only narrowly avoids a similar fate.

From here on in it's played strictly by the numbers. The infinitely resourceful Mills, who has secreted a micro cellphone about his person, manages to contact Kim and teleguide her actions, organising their escape by remote control. Practicing Houdini-like skills, he is able to break free of his bonds and save Lenore before she bleeds to death. There are no martial arts of which he is not the master, whether wielding a handgun against assault-rifles or bare-fisted against a band of men armed with clubs and knives. An ultimate mano a mano leads to a final confrontation with the clan chief and a conclusion which leaves open the possibility of a "Taken 3."

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There's one decent joke in a movie that is otherwise played perfectly straight, a second breakneck car-chase through the souk in which Mills is in the passenger seat, the wheel taken by his daughter who, we've been informed early on, has flunked her driver's permit twice and has been skipping driving lessons.

Directed by Olivier Megaton, a journeyman helmer in the Besson stable ("Transporter 3," "Colombiana"), "Taken 2" is in some ways a more polished product than its predecessor, taking full advantage of its exotic locations and pacing its action sequences more successfully. The villains are still cardboard cutouts -- short, dark, Oriental and not much interested in anything other than televised soccer -- and the general level of characterization is skin-deep. But the filmmakers know precisely what they are doing, and ultimately whether it's a good or a bad movie is beside the point. So is the issue of plausibility. This is the action-movie pared down to the basics, story-telling without pretension of subtlety, irony or sophistication, "Superman" without the superpowers and the fancy costume.

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Neeson is utterly convincing as the anger-fueled but soft-spoken action hero, the personification of the regular guy pushed to the limit in defense of his family, and it's hard to see the "Taken" franchise succeeding without him. There's a touch of vigilante advocacy in the movie that will displease some, with Neeson as a more gentlemanly version of the Charles Bronson of the "Death Wish" series, but clearly there's still a market for such fantasies. Moviegoers who liked "Taken" and want more of the same will get precisely that.

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This week, two long-awaited movies -- "Taken 2" and "Frankenweenie" -- hit the cinema. Plus, "Princess Bride" gets a 25th anniversary Blu-ray, and an all African-American cast stars in a remake of "Steel Magnolias."

TUESDAY: 'Princess Bride'
"Inconceivable!" "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." "Anybody want a peanut?" The wonderfully quotable "Princess Bride" turns 25 this month, and a 25th anniversary Blu-ray offers a fun batch of extras, including an all-new featurette called "True Love: The Princess Bride Phenomenon." Other goodies include interviews with the cast and crew, a video diary from star Cary Elwes and commentaries by director Rob Reiner and screenwriter William Goldman (who also wrote the novel upon which the film is based). Have fun storming the castle! (On sale Oct. 2.)

FRIDAY: 'Taken 2' and 'Frankenweenie'
In 2008's "Taken," Liam Neeson turned into a killing machine after his daughter was kidnapped. So how to reboot that scenario for "Taken 2"? This time around, it's his ex-wife who's taken by the same evil group from the first film. What are the odds? Also opening this week is the full-length version of "Frankenweenie," famous as the short film that got Tim Burton fired from Disney in the 1980s. Now that Burton's a big-name director, the studio gave him big money and resources to turn the idea into a big-screen, full-length 3-D release. The plot hasn't changed over the decade: Kid scientist Victor Frankenstein brings his dog Sparky back from the dead, and to no one's shock but his, that wasn't a great idea. (Both movies open Oct. 5.)

SUNDAY: 'Steel Magnolias'

The original "Steel Magnolias" came out way back in 1989, but if you've ever seen an armadillo groom's cake at a wedding, you know its influence still lingers. Now Lifetime has remade the classic Southern tearjerker with an all African-American cast. The new film features Condola Rashad (Phylicia and Ahmad's daughter) in the Julia Roberts' role of Shelby, with Queen Latifah in the Sally Field role as Shelby's mother. Also starring are Phylicia Rashad herself, Alfre Woodard and Jill Scott. (Oct. 7, 9 p.m., Lifetime.)

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