Let the wild rumpus start! Where The Wild Things Are was crowned king at the box office this weekend with a burly $32.4 million. Between Spike Jonze’s film, the better-than-anticipated opening for Law Abiding Citizen ($21.2 million) and the continued growth of Paranormal Activity, this was the highest grossing October weekend on record. As we do each Monday, here’s a breakdown of the top five at the box office.

1. Where The Wild Things Are: $32.4 million ($32.4 million total)

You’ll see much written today about how this opening for Where the Wild Things Are is solid-but-unspectacular. Do us a favor, though, and don’t believe everything you read: $32.4 million for what is really an art house meditation on the ennui felt by children from the director of Adaptation and Being John Malkovich (neither of which grossed over $32 million total) has to be considered runaway success. The giant budget (reportedly near $100 million) not withstanding, we’d love to know what everyone else reasonably expected.

2. Law Abiding Citizen: $21.2 million ($21.2 million total)

Fun with numbers! June’s Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 had a budget of $100 million, featured two A-list stars (Denzel Washington and John Travolta) and wound up grossing $23 million on opening weekend. Law Abiding Citizen had a budget of $50 million, features two B-list stars (Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler) and wound up grossing $21 million on opening weekend. The moral? When dealing with a  cat and mouse revenge piece, don’t go the extra mile. There is a finite audience here and Law Abiding Citizen found them for half the cost of Pelham.

3. Paranormal Activity: $20.1 million ($33.7 million total)

Before you start proclaiming that Paranormal Activity is no Blair Witch Project, take a look at the per screen averages. When Blair Witch expanded to 1,101 theaters in the summer of 1999, it grossed $26,528 per screen, which was good for $29.2 million. Paranormal Activity got its $20.1 million this weekend from just 760 screens… which breaks down to $26,530 per screen. Of course ticket prices are different nowadays, but make no mistake: this micro-budgeted DV horror flick is poised to be one of the biggest hits of the season.

4. Couples Retreat: $17.9 million ($63.3 million total)

Last weekend’s top choice dropped an expected 47 percent, which is about standard for your typical Vince Vaughn relationship comedy. While reaching the $118 million that The Break Up scored in the summer of 2006 might be out of the question, Couples Retreat should still inch its way past $100 million, which would make it only the second such grosser this year for Universal, after Fast & Furious. If you needed confirmation that it has been a bad year for the studio, you just got some.

5. The Stepfather: $12.3 million ($12.3 million total)

How is this cheapy horror remake different from all the others? It isn’t! Gossip Girl’s Penn Badgley saw his foray into movie stardom stalk out fifth place over the weekend, easily topping Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ($8 million/$108 million total) in the process. If nothing else, at least Mr. Badgley has some bragging rights over fellow cast member, Chace Crawford, who saw his horror movie entry, The Haunting of Molly Hartley, open to half this number last October.

If you’re apartment building is like ours—the December temperatures in October are a problem when the heat isn’t on yet—then you’re going to need someplace warm to hide this weekend. How about the movie theater? In addition to the further expansion of Paranormal Activity, five films hit screens today and, as usual, there is something for everyone. As we do every Friday, here’s a handy guide to the new releases.

Where the Wild Things Are

What’s the story: Kids movies: They aren’t just for the little ones anymore! Where the Wild Things Are is the first of this fall’s kiddie-films-for-adults (another, Wes Anderson’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox, lands in November), and we’re not ashamed to say we’ll be there tonight with paper crowns on. Spike Jonze—behind the camera for the first time since 2002’s Adaptation—directs the long-awaited adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s 1963 children’s classic, which has been expanded for the screen (by Dave Eggers, natch) from just 10 sentences to 100 minutes. The reviews have been very strong—though The Observer’s Sara Vilkomerson was lukewarm on the effort—and while we’re excited, we have to wonder: Will kids today actually care about something that came out more than 40 years ago? Now excuse us while we go bang our heads into a wall for using the term “kids today.”

Who should see it: Falcon Heene.

Law Abiding Citizen

What’s the story: This movie seemed a whole lot more interesting when Frank Darabont was attached to direct. Once he dropped off, though—presumably to film his cameo in Entourage—and was replaced by journeyman director F. Gary Gray, everything got kind of meh. Gerard Butler stars as a man who takes justice into his own hands after his family is murdered (spoiler alert?), and the killers cut a plea deal with the ambitious district attorney (Jamie Foxx). Apparently the violence here is pitched at Saw-like levels, so if the rote premise wasn’t enough to keep you away, perhaps that will.

Who should see it: Charles Bronson.

The Stepfather

What’s the story: Dan Humphrey, movie star? Lonely Boy himself, Penn Badgley, becomes the latest Gossip Girl cast member to make his way to the big screen in this remake of the ’80s horror film that featured Terry O’Quinn (better known as John Locke) back when he still had hair. Dylan Walsh steps (pun!) in this time around, as the charming stepfather who is actually a sociopath. Fun times! Normally we hate these types of movies, but, honestly, the trailer for The Stepfather looks surprisingly fun. Get thee to our Netflix queue!

Who should see it: Blake Lively.

Also opening this weekend: Stars aplenty appear in the underwhelming anthology, New York, I Love You and Black Dynamite makes a mockery of ’70s blaxploitation flicks.