‘Paranormal Activity 4’ tops N.America box office

This Oct. 16, 2012 photo released by Starpix shows directors Henry Joost, foreground left, and Ariel Schulman, with sunglasses, posing with fans at a screening for their film, “Paranormal Activity 4,” at Regal E-Walk Stadium 13 in New York. AP/Starpix, Dave Allocca

LOS ANGELES – Horror flick “Paranormal Activity 4” opened atop the North American box office this weekend, while political thriller “Argo” held onto second place, industry estimates showed Sunday.

The fourth installment in the spooky found-footage franchise raked in $30.2 million over the weekend, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Ben Affleck’s “Argo,” which earned $16.6 million, tells the true story of how a CIA agent managed to rescue six Americans who had escaped the embassy in Tehran in 1979 and taken shelter at the Canadian ambassador’s residence.

Animated comedy “Hotel Transylvania,” in which monsters become Dracula’s guests, moved up to third place, with $13.5 million in ticket sales, pushing last week’s top earner, “Taken 2,” all the way down to the number four spot.

“Taken 2,” Liam Neeson’s return as ex-CIA agent Bryan Mills, took in just $13.4 million in its third weekend.

“Alex Cross,” starring Tyler Perry as the popular James Patterson detective character, debuted in fifth place with $11.7 million in ticket sales.

Another horror flick, “Sinister,” dropped to sixth place, taking in $9 million.

“Here Comes the Boom,” a comedy starring Kevin James as a high school teacher who looks to become a mixed martial arts fighter to raise money for his school, was right behind with $8.5 million.

In eighth place was “Pitch Perfect,” a musical-comedy about a cappella singing groups, which earned $7 million.

Rounding out the top ten were “Frankenweenie,” Tim Burton’s latest effort, with $4.4 million, and “Looper,” a time travel mob movie starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which earned $4.2 million.