After two very close second place performances on Monday and Tuesday, Paramount’s Paranormal Activity led the daily box office on Wednesday with $1.639 million. That was down 8 percent from Tuesday, up 65 percent from last Wednesday and represented the first time the film has led the daily box office. The ultra low-budget horror film marked the third different film to top the daily box office over the past three days.

Thanks in part to strong word of mouth over the internet, Paranormal Activity has been a money making machine for Paramount during its 27-day run in platform and limited release. Paranormal Activity has grossed $38.56 million to date and will likely cross the $40 million mark today. With Paranormal Activity going into wide release on Friday, it could be a close race between it and Lionsgate’s Saw VI for first place this weekend.

Warner’s Where the Wild Things Are was up one spot from Tuesday to finish in second. The Spike Jonze directed film trailed Paranormal Activity by $72,797 with a daily gross of $1.566 million. Where the Wild Things Are experienced a second straight daily slide of 11 percent, which suggests that there is a good chance the film will continue to fall off quickly throughout its run. The six-day gross for Where the Wild Things Are stands at $37.99 million, which is towards the higher end of pre-release expectations.

After finishing in first on Tuesday, Overture’s Law Abiding Citizen was down two spots and a sharp 15 percent to place in third on Wednesday. The action-thriller starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler grossed $1.532 million for the day. Yesterday’s percentage drop marked the first blemish on what has been a better than expected six-day start for the film. Law Abiding Citizen has grossed $26.08 million to date, placing it 37 percent ahead of the pace of 2007’s The Kingdom.

Universal’s Couples Retreat remained in fourth place with $1.098 million. The critic-proof comedy written by and starring Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau was down 9 percent from Tuesday and down 52 percent from last Wednesday. After a terrific four-day start, Couples Retreat has had trouble maintaining momentum in the days since then. With that said, the comedy has still exceeded expectations with a gross of $66.00 million through 13 days.

In platform release A Serious Man passed the $2 million mark on Wednesday. The low-budget Coen Brothers film from Focus grossed $68,569 for the day, which was up 1 percent from Tuesday and up 66 percent from last Wednesday (when it was playing in 61 fewer locations). A Serious Man has had a solid start in platform release, but fill face a major test when it expands into an additional 94 locations on Friday.

BOXOFFICE.com's predictions for the weekend can be read here.