If you enjoy keeping up on box office results, this turned out to be one of the more interesting weekends for new releases. While it was originally thought that Gangster Squad would have no problem winning the weekend, it ended up placing third. Taking the top spot was Zero Dark Thirty, which expanded to 2,900 theaters and likely received a boost from all of the Oscar nominations it recently picked up. The movie earned $24 million over the weekend and should hold a decent spot in the top ten over the next few weeks.
A Haunted House performed better than many probably expected, earning $18.8 million. The new horror spoof from Marlon Wayans had an estimated production budget of $2.5 million, so this is a definite win for the R-rated comedy. Gangster Squad was the only other new wide release and only earned an estimated $16.7 million. Even with a decent marketing push and solid cast, most reviews were not kind to the movie and word of mouth appears to have slowed down ticket sales after a decent opening on Friday.
The only horror movie on the top ten is Texas Chainsaw 3D, which placed ninth this weekend after holding the top spot previously. Movies like this are typically front loaded, so while it had a great opening weekend and Lionsgate should still be happy, the movie is unlikely to stay in the top ten.
Next week sees the wide release of Broken City, The Last Stand, and Mama. Here are the top ten results for this weekend:
1. Zero Dark Thirty - $24,000,000
2. A Haunted House - $18,817,000
3. Gangster Squad - $16,710,000
4. Django Unchained - $11,065,000
5. Les Miserables - $10,127,000
6. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - $9,080,000
7. Lincoln - $6,314,000
8. Parental Guidance - $6,100,000
9. Texas Chainsaw 3D - $5,150,000
10. Silver Linings Playbook - $5,000,000
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