Before we get to this weekend box office numbers, can I get something off my chest that’s been bothering me?

Is that a toupee that Tyler Perry is wearing in Alex Cross? Why does his hair look so odd? It's as if it’s sitting on top of his head instead of growing out from it.  Just looks weird to me, that’s all.

Anyway the big question this weekend was: will audiences buy Perry as Cross?

And the answer is... not really…

The film came in 5th, grossing just under $12 million, which is the lowest opening weekend total for any film with Tyler Perry in the lead.

The previous lowest grossing film in that category was Good Deeds, which opened at $15.6 million when it came out earlier this year in February.

The question is, will the film hold?

Judging from the bad word of mouth, it’ll probably drop off big time during the next few weeks. And with some big hitters coming out in the following weeks, such as Flight, Cloud Atlas, Skyfall and Lincoln, it’s got a tough path ahead of itself.

As for Ava DuVernay’s independently made (for about $200,000) and distributed Middle of Nowhere, which expanded to 21 screens in 14 cities – it grossed an esitimated $54,395, with several cities, like New York and Philadelphia, reporting a per screen average of over $7,000.

The film has grossed an excellent total of $127,137 so far, and will be expanding to even more cities next weekend.

However, the biggest talk of the weekend was the slight box office drop-off for Ben Affleck’s Argo, once again in second place, indicating incredible word of mouth for the film. If it keeps up at this pace, the modestly budgeted film is headed for a $100 million or higher gross for sure.

1) Paranormal Activity 4 Par. $30,200,000
2) Argo WB $16,625,000 Total: $43,191,000
3) Hotel Transylvania Sony $13,500,000 Total: $119,000,000
4) Taken 2 Fox $13,400,000 Total: $105,971,000
5) Alex Cross Sum. $11,750,000
6) Sinister Sum. $9,030,000 Total: $31,950,000
7) Here Comes the Boom Sony $8,500,000 Total: $23,200,000
8) Pitch Perfect Uni. $7,009,000 Total: $45,769,000
9) Frankenweenie BV $4,434,000 Total: $28,343,000
10) Looper TriS $4,200,000 Total: $57,800,000
11) Seven Psychopaths CBS $3,305,000 Total: $9,193,000
12) The Perks of Being a Wallflower Sum. $2,150,000 Total: $9,121,000