This just keeps getting better and better. Just as I expected, Paramount's surprise suspense thriller "Paranormal Activity" overpowered new entry "Saw VI" at the North American box office Friday with a superb $7.6 million in ticket sales after expanding to 1,945 locations.

Oren Peli's excellent thriller lifted its domestic total to $48 million. Meanwhile, Lionsgate's "Saw VI" opened at 3,036 locations and bagged $7 million Friday, enough for second place. The sixth installment in the series picks up where the last film ended and digs deeper into Jigsaw's past.

Things didn't go that well for this week's other new releases. Paul Weitz's "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant," about a teenager who joins a freak show and becomes a vampire, only made it to No. 7 with a daily gross of $2.2 million from ticket sales at 2,754 locations.

"Astro Boy" delivered an even weaker performance, pulling a disappointing $1.8 million at 3,014 locations. The animated film follows a scientist who creates a robot boy capable of achieving great things. New release "Amelia" came in eleventh with $1.3 million.

At No. 3, Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are" generated another $4.3 million, lifting its total haul to $43.9 million. Following in fourth place with $4.1 million was "Law Abiding Citizen," which brought its total gross to $31.7 million.

Meanwhile, Universal's comedy "Couples Retreat" finished fifth Friday, earning $3.6 million for a domestic gross of $70.7 million.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)