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.
You would think that the holidays would be scary enough, but for whatever reason, the kids love their horror movies and that’s why for the second year in a row, the first weekend of January saw another significant horror opening with Texas Chainsaw 3D (Lionsgate), a direct sequel to Tobe Hooper’s low budget 1974 horror classic, opening in first place with an estimated $23 million in 2,654 theaters, roughly $8.6 thousand per site. Starring Alexandra Daddario, Dan Yeager and R ‘n’ B singer “Trey Songz”–apparently a big draw for the film according to some sources–the 3D “sequel” opened directly between the 2003 reboot and the 2006 prequel, both released by New Line, which is a good sign for Lionsgate trying to continue the franchise.
Of the returning holiday movies, Quentin Tarantino’s Southern Django Unchained (The Weinstein Co.) held up better than some of its holiday competition, dropping 33% to $20.1 million as it crossed the $100 million mark with $106.5 million to date.
It was followed in third place by Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (New Line/WB) with $17.5 million, down 45% having already dropped out of first place in the past week. It has grossed $263.8 million domestically so far and has already grossed $825 million worldwide making it the fourth-highest grossing movie of 2012 globally – it’s sixth domestically.
The musical Les Miserables (Universal), directed by Tom Hooper, dropped to fourth place with $16.2 million (down 41%) as it also crossed the $100 million mark with $103.6 million. Internationally, the movie is faring nearly as well in 17 territories, adding another $14.5 million this weekend to bring its international total to $81 million and global cume to $184.6 million.
Andy Fickman’s family comedy Parental Guidance (20th Century Fox), starring Billy Crystal and Bette Midler, took fifth place with $10.1 million, down 30% from the holiday weekend, having grossed $52.7 million to date.
Sixth place went to Tom Cruise’s crime thriller Jack Reacher (Paramount) with $9.3 million and $64.8 million total, while Judd Apatow’s mid-life comedy This Is 40 (Universal) followed in seventh with $8.6 million and $54.5 million total.
Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed period drama Lincoln (DreamWorks), starring Daniel Day-Lewis, has already grossed $143.9 million since opening in early November, adding another $5.3 million this weekend for eighth place.
The Seth Rogen-Barbra Streisand road comedy The Guilt Trip (Paramount) took ninth with $4.5 million and $31.2 million total, clearly the big disappointment of the holiday season.
The Matt Damon-John Krasinski drama Promised Land (Focus Features), directed by Gus Van Sant, expanded nationwide into 1,676 theaters on Friday after a one week platform release, rounding out the Top 10 with $4.3 million or $2,500 per site.
The Top 10 grossed an estimated $119 million, which was almost on par with the 2012 kickoff weekend when The Devil Inside won the weekend with $33.7 million followed by Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol with just under $20 million.
Juan Bayona’s disaster drama The Impossible, starring Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor, also expanded nationwide into 572 theaters, but it failed to break into the Top 10 with its $2.8 million weekend gross, roughly $4,800 per theater.
Still in limited release, Kathryn Bigelow’s award-winning Zero Dark Thirty (Sony) expanded into 60 theaters Friday where it grossed an astounding $2.75 million i.e. nearly as much as The Impossible in 512 more theaters. It averaged nearly $46 thousand per location and has grossed roughly $4.5 million before its nationwide expansion on Friday, January 11.
Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films.
