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Kim Hollis: Silver Linings Playbook expanded into wide release, earning $10.8 million from 2,523 locations. The movie has now earned $54.7 million, while capitalizing on Oscar buzz more than any other movie. What are your thoughts on this film's "opening weekend?" What do you think about its Academy Awards candidacy?

Edwin Davies: This is a very good expansion, but maybe they could have done it earlier and seen a splashier result. Last week would probably have been the best time since it would have taken advantage of the Oscar nominations, and it probably would have made for good counter-programming against Zero Dark Thirty's expansion. As it is, the film's been out for a while so a lot of people have had a chance to check it out, but the blanket advertising campaign and charm offensive that the cast have been on means that it's going to chug along nicely from now until Oscar night, where I think it has a good shot at Best Supporting Actor for De Niro and maybe a writing one for David O. Russell (neither of which I personally think the film deserves, seeing as it's just an okay movie). I don't see it winning over Lincoln, personally, but the feel-good factor is going to carry it past $100 million fairly easily.

Felix Quinonez: I think this is a great expansion for a movie that already had an impressive run in limited release (especially relative to its budget). I think waiting a week was a smart move because I think it would have been overshadowed by Zero Dark Thirty, which was basically the only movie that mattered last week. But this week the hype around ZDT has died down a bit and Silver Linings can generate some headlines of its own. I think this will definitely give it a big boost at the box office. As far as its Oscar hopes, I don't think it is much of a contender but this performance certainly won't hurt its chances.

Matthew Huntley: I enjoyed this movie too, but I don't think it's exactly award-worthy. It's touching and feel-goody, yes, and the acting is strong, but the movie as a whole isn't exactly inspired. For the record, I wouldn't be necessarily disappointed if it took home some statues, but in my opinion, there are other films that are more deserving.

With that said, I think the reason it's performing so well now is because the Weinstein marketing machine chose the right time to strike and have now made people who haven't seen the movie think they're missing something by not seeing it prior to Oscar night. That's sneaky but smart, and it's actually what the Weinstein Company specializes in.

Kim Hollis: I actually think the release and expansion of this film have been handled masterfully by the Weinsteins. Since they had a number of movies that they might consider pushing for the Academy Awards (including The Master, SLP and Django Unchained), they could afford to sit back and see how reception for Silver Linings Playbook played out over awards season and then expand it at exactly the right time, when people are wondering what the heck this movie is.

I also wouldn’t be surprised to see it capture some unexpected Oscars, including possibly Jennifer Lawrence and David O. Russell for director. I *think* that Jessica Chastain seems likeliest to win Best Actress based on the data we have so far, but the backlash against Zero Dark Thirty has been severe enough (and remember that Hollywood is hyper liberal) to the point that many voters may not wish to reward that film in any way. Lawrence makes for a good story, plus she’s got The Hunger Games to add to her wow-factor. I also think that if the Academy chose this as a year where they want to break away from their stodgy, old-fashioned choices, Silver Linings Playbook is the kind of movie that can benefit.

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