Paramount’s decision to aim the wide release of its brilliantly marketed “Paranormal Activity” straight at the jugular of Lionsgate’s “Saw” franchise drew blood, slicing the opening of “Saw VI” in half from the previous four installments with an anemic $14.8 million, less than the opening of even the original torture porn “Saw.”

Playing at a thousand fewer locations, “Paranormal” confirmed its status as the phenomenon of the season with a frightful $22 million from 1,945 haunted houses, and faces no real competition for Halloween weekend with $62.5 million in the bank so far, versus an $11,000 production cost.

Paramount and its departing partners at DreamWorks reportedly spent a paltry $300,000 to acquire this Slamdance premiere and under $10 million for publicity and prints. (Paramount chairman  Brad Grey told the L.A. Times today that the studio is contemplating a sequel to what may be the most profitable film in Paramount’s nearly 98-year history).

‘Wild Things’ plummets; ‘Astro’, ‘Cirque’ DOA

No such good news for Warner Bros. and its financial partners on Spike Jonze’s arty children’s film misfire “Where the Wild Things Are,” which burned through its hipster audience last weekend and dropped 58 percent to $14.5 million and will likely not recoup a production cost that exceeded $100M. 

The tidings were also grim for Summit and Universal, whose “Astro Boy” and stillborn franchise “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” arrived with a moribund $7M and $6.3 million, respectively.

‘Amelia’ crashes and burns

Fox Searchlight meanwhile had to endure the embarrassment of “Amelia” landing outside the top 10 with a pitiful $4M. The older women the specialty division was hoping to turn  out were likely scared  away by the scathing reviews.