By JAKE COYLE
AP Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Jessica Chastain easily outmuscled
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mark Wahlberg over the weekend, topping the
box office with both her supernatural horror film "Mama" and the
Oscar-nominated Osama bin Laden hunt thriller "Zero Dark Thirty."
"Mama" opened well above expectations with a
box-office topping $28.1 million for Universal Pictures, according to
studio estimates Sunday. Chastain also held the second spot with "Zero
Dark Thirty," for which she's nominated by the Academy Awards for best
actress. In its second week of wide release, "Zero Dark Thirty" took in
$17.6 million.
The films' strong performances made an unlikely
box-office queen out of a chameleon-like actress that even fans of
"Mama" might have trouble picking out of a lineup. Chastain, whose
credits range from Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" to "The Help"
(for which she was also Oscar nominated), even accomplished the rare
feat by besting a couple more traditional box-office stalwarts.
Schwarzenegger's post-governorship comeback got off
to a terrible start. His action flick "The Last Stand" opened with just
$6.3 million for Lionsgate, one of the worst debuts for the brawny
65-year-old star. The film came in 10th.
Though Schwarzenegger co-starred in "The
Expendables 2," which opened with $28.6 million in August, "The Last
Stand" is his first proper starring vehicle since exiting the California
governor's seat in January 2011.
The Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe-led New York crime
film "Broken City" didn't fare much better. The Fox release premiered
with $9.1 million.
The Oscar-nominated "Django Unchained," meanwhile,
became the director's biggest box-office hit in its fourth week. The
Weinstein Co. release surpassed his previous film, "Inglourious
Basterds," by adding $8.2 million for a domestic total of $138.4
million. But it did exceptional business internationally, taking in
$48.1 million and proving that Tarantino's Spaghetti Western set in the
antebellum South had tremendous appeal worldwide.
But domestically, audiences flocked to the
PG-13-rated "Mama," which bore the imprimatur of the well-respected
fantasy-spinner Guillermo Del Toro, a producer.
"Never underestimate the drawing power of a PG-13 horror film," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.
Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal
Pictures, acknowledged the apparently limitless appetite for such a
film, if done right: "That's why we did it," she said.
"It's a fun film without a lot of extraordinary
violence," said Rocco, who added she would have been "thrilled" with a
debut in the mid- to high-teens. "Young people like scary stuff."
With Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday,
Hollywood will get a virtual four-day weekend at the box office.
Universal is predicting "Mama" to finish with $33.2 million by the end
of Monday.
Though horror films generally are a hit with male
audiences, "Mama" appealed strongly to females, who made up 61 percent
of its moviegoers. That was key on a weekend filled with male-driven
movies, including "Broken City," ''The Last Stand," ''Django Unchained"
and Warner Bros.' "Gangster Squad."
"It's an incredibly competitive marketplace for testosterone-driven films," said Dergarabedian.
The Weinstein Co.'s "Silver Linings Playbook,"
nominated for eight Academy Awards including best picture, expanded to
its largest number of theaters in its 10th week of release. Playing in
2,523 theaters, a jump of 1,713 theaters, the David O. Russell film took
in $11.4 million on the weekend - the same in which its star Jennifer
Lawrence hosted "Saturday Night Live" - for a cumulative $55.3 million.
Other Oscar favorites saw their largest boost
internationally. Ang Lee's 3-D fantasy "Life of Pi" continued to attract
moviegoers worldwide, adding $20.7 million to its huge $393.9 million
international haul. The international take for Tom Hooper's musical,
"Les Miserables," also grew to $150.5 million with $19.4 million on the
weekend.
___
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at
U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where
available, latest international numbers are also included. Final
domestic figures will be released Tuesday.
1. "Mama," $28.1 million.
2. "Zero Dark Thirty," $17.6 million. ($770,000 international.)
3. "Silver Linings Playbook," $11.4 million. ($700,000 international.)
4. "Gangster Squad," $9.1 million. ($5.7 million international.)
5. "Broken City," $9 million.
6. "A Haunted House," $8.3 million. ($1.6 million international.)
7. "Django Unchained," $8.2 million. ($48.1 million international.)
8. "Les Miserables," $7.8 million. ($19.4 million international.)
9. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," $6.4 million. ($13.2 million international.)
10. "The Last Stand," $6.3 million. ($1.3 million international.)
___
Estimated weekend ticket sales at international
theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas
by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:
1. "Django Unchained," $48.1 million.
2. "Life of Pi," $20.7 million.
3. "Les Miserables," $19.4 million.
4. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," $13.2 million.
5. "Jack Reacher," $11.8 million.
6. "Wreck-It Ralph," $8.2 million.
7. "The Impossible," $7.9 million.
8. "Man on the Edge," $7.5 million.
9. "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," $7.3 million.
10. "Gangster Squad," $5.7 million.
___
Online:
http://www.hollywood.com
http://www.rentrak.com
___
Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a
unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony
Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom
Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax
is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight
are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time
Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including
Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned
by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.;
Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.
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