Box Office Report: Mama Scares Up Monster Victory

WINNER OF THE WEEK:Jessica Chastain. The flame-haired actress owned the top two spots on the box office chart this weekend and helped drive an estimated $45.7 million in ticket sales from Friday to Sunday. (For the full four-day holiday weekend, its a projected $54.6 million.) As the star ofMama, she enjoyed a Number One debut with an estimated $28.1 million (and a projected $33.2 million through Monday). Meanwhile, ChastainsZero Dark Thirtywas Number Two with an estimated $17.6 million weekend (or $21.4 million for the full holiday). HerMamasuccess is especially impressive considering that pundits predicted a three-day opening below $20 million. You could credit the stars increased buzz after her Best Dramatic Actress Golden Globe win forZDTlast Sunday (more on the Globes effects, below), butMamawasnt really sold as a Chastain vehicle. Rather, it sold to horror fans on the strength of producer Guillermo Del Toros name, not to mention its PG-13 rating at a multiplex otherwise full of more restrictive R-rated movies. Given the initial successes ofTexas Chainsaw 3Da couple weeks ago and of spoofA Haunted Houselast week, January is starting to look like the new October, a hospitable month for horror.

LOSERS OF THE WEEK:Aging Action Stars. Mark Wahlberg owned this same weekend last year withContraband, which enjoyed an opening almost identical to Mama ($28.5 million). This year, however, the 41-year-olds thrillerBroken Citybarely broke into the top five, debuting with an estimated $9.0 million (a projected $10 million or so by Monday), about half what experts had predicted. (It came in a hair below Number Four movieGangster Squad, which lost nearly half its sales since last weekends debut and earned an estimated $9.1 over three days, just over $10 million for the holiday weekend.)

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Still, thats a lot better than Arnold SchwarzeneggersThe Last Stand, which premiered at Number Ten and scored only an estimated $6.3 million for the weekend ($7.4 million through Monday), less than half the $14 to $16 million it was expected to earn in its first three days.It didnt help that both movies were competing against each other (andGangster Squad) for the same older male audience. Still, its hard not to conclude that the 65-year-old is having a hard time reviving his career after a decade away from the screen. Wed be making jokes about the aptness of his current movie title if Schwarzenegger werent an unstoppable cyborg who should never be counted out. Hell be back.

GOLDEN NUGGETS:As with the Oscar nominations, many films enjoyed a Golden Globes bounce after winning prizes or even being featured prominently at last Sundays awards ceremony. The biggest bounce beneficiary wasSilver Linings Playbook, which followed Jennifer Lawrences Best Actress in a Comedy prize by finally opening wide (adding 1,713 screens for a total of 2,523) and seeing a 126 percent rise in sales. It leaped seven spots to Number Three on estimated earnings of $11.4 million ($14.2 million over the four days).Life of Piadded 499 venues (for a total 1,256) and earned an estimated $3.4 million, up 26 percent from last weekend.Argoadded 135 screens (for a count of 756) and saw sales rise 95 percent to an estimated $2.4 million.Wreck-It Ralphadded 836 theaters (it now has 1,312) and sold an estimated $1.3 million in tickets, up 97 percent. Foreign Language winnerAmouradded 21 screens (for a total of 36) and saw a rise of 61 percent to an estimated $413,000.Quartet, playing on just two screens a week ago, is now on 32 and saw a 579 percent rise to an estimated $320,000. And nominatedRust and Bonedoubled its theater count to 168 and saw a 32 percent rise to an estimated $247,000.

Not every Globe honoree enjoyed a bounce; some saw a modest decline.ZDTlost 28 percent of last weeks business.Django Unchainedlost 25 percent.Les Miserableslost 19 percent.Lincolnlost 15 percent, even though it added 147 screens (for a total of 2,174 venues).The Impossibleadded 78 theaters (for a total count of 886), but it earned an estimated $2.53 million, nearly identical to last weekends tally. Some of these movies have been out longer than others, but all of them seem to have peaked. Of course, if they hold out long enough to remain in theaters through the Oscar ceremony on February 24th and they win some trophies they could see yet another awards bounce.