‘Argo’ Tops Weekend Box Office

Ben Affleck’s Argo has been in theaters for three weeks but it wasn’t until this weekend that the movie took the top spot at the box office.

Argo brought in over $12 million this weekend to raise its domestic total to $60.7 million.

The movie, which was directed by Ben Affleck, has generated a lot of buzz since its release. Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com said that it was the “quintessential word of mouth” movie.

Dergarabedian told the NY Daily News:

“When it first opened, it appealed to an older audience that doesn’t necessarily run out on the first weekend to see it … And ‘Paranormal Activity 4’ opened last weekend and was clearly going to be a film that would top the box office. But ‘Argo’ is so undeniably strong that it’s ascending, rather than descending as movies often do. It’s a combination of great word of mouth and not a lot of competition out there.”

Box Office Mojo reports that Hotel Transylvania took the second spot at this weekend’s box office. The animated movie starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James brought in $9.5 million, narrowly beating the new Tom Hank’s movie, Cloud Atlas, which opened with $9.4 million.

Paranormal Activity 4 brought in $8.6 million while Silent Hill: Revelation 3D ended its opening weekend with $8 million.

Did you go to the movies this weekend? Are you surprised to see Argo at the top of the box office?