Horror pictures face brutal rivalry at box office

Even the most expensive horror campaigns seldom cost more than high-teen millions, and marketing on less ambitious pictures generally is confined to the single-digit millions.

"Horror films tend to be low-budget and high-concept, with a rapid burn-off in the marketplace," Marich said. "They're in the fall because it's essentially a dumping ground as an off-peak period, and with Halloween you do have some topicality."

This fall, though, the onslaught of releases, even some with impeccable genre credentials, might have cannibalized one another.

Even though it carried the imprimatur of writer-director Wes Craven, whose credits range from the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" to the "Scream" trilogy," the serial-killer movie "Soul" has taken in just $14 million during its first three weekends. "Let Me In," a remake of the critically admired 2008 Swedish teen vampire tale "Let the Right One In," earned an 89% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes. But though it was billed as the first film from director Matt Reeves since his breakout hit "Cloverfield," moviegoers gave it the cold shoulder.

Still, if a horror film hits, it quickly can develop a rabid fan base.

Even though "Saw VI" showed signs of franchise fatigue with a $14.1 million bow and $27.9 million total domestic haul last year, over the long run, the series has provided Lionsgate with a nice annuity. The studio will try to get one more round of extra-dimensional play out of the series with "Saw 3D." The calculation is that 3D enthusiasm will re-engerize the fan base with a must-see sense of urgency.

"We shot it in 3D to event-ize the film," Lionsgate distribution president David Spitz said. "This is also the final chapter in the franchise."

The question is where the "Saw" and "Paranormal" pictures can co-exist in multiplexes this weekend.

Before its bow last weekend, Paramount executives acknowledged that "Paranormal 2" likely would prove a one-weekend wonder. That's just how it goes with most low-budget horror pictures and many other fan-fueled wide releases.

But with "Paranormal 2" overachieving with a $40.7 million opening weekend, Paramount executive vp of distribution Don Harris said he now hopes it can avoid the usual horror befalling horror pictures in their sophomore sessions.

"I've got a feeling it's going to hang around for a while," he said.

Compared with those horror titles that faded quickly, "Paranormal 2" already has made a killing.