"Zero Dark Thirty" scored the top spot at the box office beating out new releases "Gangster Squad" and low budget spoof film "A Haunted House."
"Thirty" stunned at the box office making $24 million. The Kathryn Bigelow-directed film's wide opening was higher than recent Award contending pictures "Lincoln ($21 million) and "Argo" ($19.5 million). The film was originally supposed to be released wide in December but Sony opted for a platform release in NY and LA to create anticipation. The controversy over the movie's torture scenes and its Oscar nominations were only some factors that led to this massive opening. The films total now stands at $29 million and it can easily top $100 million with word of mouth.
The second spot was also surprisingly won by the spoof film "A Haunted House" starring Marlon Wayans. The film made $18.8 million at 2,160 locations and became the best opening for a spoof movie since 2006 when "Date Movie" made $19.1 million on its opening weekend. Open Road Entertainment stated that the audience was made up of 58 percent female, 48 percent African American, and 30 percent Latino. The film should easily end with $35 million by the end of its run making it a solid tally for an early release.
In third place "Gangster Squad" failed to catch with audiences. The film opened to a disappointing $16.7 million after it was expected to top the weekend. "Squad" was front-loaded as 40 percent of its audience went on opening day. The film's audience was split with women and men and skewed audience members under 35.
Some Oscar nominees fared well and got boosts at the Box office while others suffered great declines. "Lincoln" and "Silver Linings Playbook" benefited from their Oscar nominations. "Lincoln" improved 17 percent earning $6.3 million for a new total of $152.6 million, which makes it director Steven Spielberg's 12th movie to gross at least $150 million. "Silver Linings Playbook" jumped 38 percent grossing $5 million, which is the movie's top weekend so far. It has now earned $41.3 million, and it should be close to grossing $45 million when it expands to around 2,500 locations on Friday Jan. 18.
Oscar nominee "Django Unchained" dropped 45 percent and made $11.1 million this weekend. The controversial western has earned $125.4 million, which makes it writer-director Quentin Tarentino's highest-grossing movie ever.
"Les Miserables" also dropped 37 percent and grossed$10.1 million. The film now stands at $119 million and is now the fifth highest grossing musical of all time.