The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films and then check back on Monday for the final figures based on actual box office.
After receiving five Academy Award nominations on Thursday and expanding to 2,937 theaters on Friday, director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal’s Zero Dark Thirty climbed to the top spot with an estimated $24 million. Made for $40 million, the Columbia Pictures release, about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, has earned $29.5 million after four weeks. Starring Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Jeremy Strong, Kyle Chandler, Edgar Ramirez and Mark Strong, the film received an A- CinemaScore from moviegoers. 59% of the film’s weekend audience was male; 41% was female. 38% was under 30 years of age and 62% was older than 30.
While Zero Dark Thirty performed better than expected, probably the bigger surprise was A Haunted House, the spoof of the “Paranormal Activity” franchise which opened in second place with an estimated $18.8 million from 2,160 theaters. Reportedly made for just $2.5 million, the film stars and was co-written by Marlon Wayans.
Warner Bros. Pictures’ new crime drama Gangster Squad had to settle for the third spot, making $16.7 million in 3,103 theaters. Directed by Ruben Fleischer, the film stars Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Robert Patrick, Michael Peña, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Mackie, Emma Stone and Sean Penn. Gangster Squad was originally going to be released last September, but it was pushed back after the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting since the movie also featured a theater shooting that has now been removed.
Dropping two spots to fourth was Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, which added $11.1 million its third weekend in theaters for a total of $125.4 million so far. Starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington and Samuel L. Jackson, the Weinstein Company release was made for about $100 million.
Universal Pictures’ Les Misérables rounded out the top five with $10.1 million. The $61 million adaptation, directed by Tom Hooper, has earned $119.2 million after three weeks.
Coming in at No. 6 was Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which made another $9.1 million in its fifth weekend for a domestic total of $278.1 million.
Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln acontinued to do as well well in seventh place with $6.3 million its 10th weekend. The $65 million drama has collected $152.6 million.
Also of note, last week’s champ Texas Chainsaw 3D suffered a big 76% drop in ticket sales its second weekend, which is one of the biggest second-week drops ever. The horror film took in $5.2 million for a total of $30.8 million after two weeks.
Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films.
