Weekend Box Office: January 11-13, 2013

Zero Dark Thirty targets the top!

After three weeks in limited release, filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow‘s ZERO DARK THIRTY expanded to 2900 screens this weekend. And audiences were keen to see what the buzz was all about, pushing it to #1 at the box office with $24 million.

The controversial thriller, nominated for Golden Globes and Academy Awards Best Picture, may also end up being Bigelow’s biggest box office success — it’s already surpassed the entire domestic total of her Oscar-winner THE HURT LOCKER ($17 million), but would have to make it to K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER’s $35.1 million total and then POINT BREAK’s $43.2 million (the Keanu/Swayze crime flick actually hit $83.5M worldwide back in 1991).

Coming in second behind the hunt for Osama bin Laden was the new Marlon Wayans R-rated horror spoof A HAUNTED HOUSE with $18.8 million. The ostensible comedy actually grabbed the highest per-screen average in the Top 10, and since it was made super-cheap (reportedly less than $3 million), you can expect another one to get cranked out with frightening speed. The parody was released by Open Road Films, who also saw moderate success last year with THE GREY ($51.5M) and END OF WATCH ($40.9M).

Despite a high-profile cast featuring Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Sean Penn, the stylish new release GANGSTER SQUAD got gunned down in third place with $16.7 million. Originally due in theaters last September, the period cops-versus-mobsters tale (from ZOMBIELAND director Ruben Fleischer) didn’t exactly receive reviews to match the level of talent on display — it’s at 34% on Rotten Tomatoes, although paying crowds handed it a relatively handsome ‘B+’ CinemaScore.

Quentin Tarantino‘s DJANGO UNCHAINED still has some ammunition, taking in another $11 million and officially becoming the filmmaker’s biggest domestic box office release with $125.3 million. While that figure surpasses INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS’ $120.5M, that WWII epic ended up with $321.5M worldwide, which could be a struggle to hit when the violent slavery/bounty-hunting saga is released internationally this month.

The musical LES MISERABLES is humming along thanks to more award nominations, in fifth place with $10.1 million (and now at a $238.4M global total), nudging THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY further down the path off the list with $9M.

Spielberg’s LINCOLN stood in seventh with $6.3M, and although it’s the veteran on the chart (10 weeks in release), it could be around until the statues are handed out next month considering the number of Oscar nominations it received. And the persistent Billy Crystal comedy PARENTAL GUIDANCE has proven to be a minor hit, now at $60.6M total on a reported $25M cost.

If you’re looking for last week’s #1 box office winner, TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D sputtered waaaaayyyy down in ninth with $5.1 million, a killer 76% drop in business from its opening weekend. And SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK is still coasting on awards attention, returning to the list in tenth place (after more than two months, it finally expands wide to 2500 screens next weekend).

Next week puts Arnold Schwarzenegger back in action with THE LAST STAND, while producer Guillermo del Toro presents the horror movie MAMA (featuring ZERO DARK THIRTY’s Jessica Chastain), and Mark Wahlberg faces off with Russell Crowe in the thriller BROKEN CITY.

Are you excited about Arnie’s return to leading roles with THE LAST STAND? VOTE HERE!