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Third and fourth this weekend go to our Oscar players this year, Silver Linings Playbook and Zero Dark Thirty. Silver Linings Playbook is third, as the Weinstein Company continues to throw more screens at this release. This weekend, the studio added another 118 venues to the romantic dramedy’s run, after going wide last weekend with a 1,713 screen expansion. Following last weekend’s holiday inflated $10.8 million take, Playbook drops a terrific 7% this weekend to $10 million. Anything Weinstein is always shrewd, and the awards driven studio has turned this small $21 million picture into a $69.5 million winner. Should Oscar shine its light (doubtful but possible), $100 million could be on the table.

Silver Linings Playbook actually leapfrogged Zero Dark Thirty this weekend, as the Kathryn Bigelow bin Laden film moves from second last weekend to fourth this frame. Zero Dark Thirty picked up another $9.8 million but falls a troubling 38% compared to last weekend. The $40 million Sony release has now earned $69.9 million, a very similar amount to Silver Linings Playbook, despite the very different release strategies. Playbook platformed in the traditional way, while Zero Dark Thirty did the NY/LA opening, then added 60 venues, and then went to a wide pattern. Look for this showdown to continue over the next few weeks, leading up to Oscar.

Fifth place goes to Parker, the new Jason Statham film that was attempting to start a franchise. The franchise idea is no more, as Parker had an opening weekend gross of only $7 million. Out to 2,224 venues, the actioner actually had the best reviews amongst the openers this weekend at 35% fresh, but that’s not good enough to get any buzz going. Reviews again generally like Statham (they always seem to), but the material here wasn’t up to par. This debut follows the Statham trend of mid-to-high single digits, a domestic multiplier of about 2.5, and then a similar result overseas. Someone needs to get this guy some better material. If you are thinking about seeing Parker, rent Payback with Mel Gibson instead. You get Maria Bello and Lucy Liu instead of Jennifer Lopez.

Sixth goes to Django Unchained, the Weinstein Company’s biggest film ever. Django earned another $5 million this weekend as it declined 35% from the previous frame. The Christmas Day release has now earned $146.3 million stateside, and another $50 million from overseas markets.

Movie 43, a critical and financial flop, takes seventh place. The film, which is series of interconnected stories shot by different directors, opened badly with only $5 million. Relativity put it out to only 2,023 venues, a lower number that indicates they knew how bad this was. Movie 43 was another one not screened for critics, and it currently sits with only two positive reviews out of a possible 35. This one cost only $6 million to make, so again, no one gets hurt (except those that pay to see it). Oddly, Movie 43 is another movie that is finding popularity in Russia - it has tallied $8.5 million there so far.

Eighth is Gangster Squad, the star studded throwback action movie. The Warner Bros. released earned only $4.2 million, off 51% from its fourth place finish last weekend. The $60 million gangster flick has pulled in $39.6 million.

Down in ninth is Broken City, which is going to be out of the top ten after only two weekends. The Mark Wahlberg/Russell Crowe flop earned another $4 million, but will leave with a domestic total of only $15.3 million.

Les Miserables, Universal’s other big movie, finishes in 10th. The musical earned another $3.9 million as it fell 48% from the previous frame. It looks like it will lose the Christmas Day showdown with Django Unchained stateside, as Les Mis has earned $137.2 million, about $9 million less than the Tarantino picture; however, it has earned $150 million overseas. It will lose the domestic battle, but win the worldwide war.

In other box office news this weekend, Life of Pi crossed the $100 million mark on Monday, its 62nd day of release, but will end up with a worldwide gross that will put Django Unchained and Les Mis to shame. Life of Pi also crossed the half-billion mark, making those that greenlit the $120 million production look like superstars. Lastly, remember all that talk about Tom Cruise and the miss that was Jack Reacher? The action flick should cross the $100 million plateau overseas this weekend, which means the overall take for the $60 million Paramount release has reached $175 million.

Overall this weekend, the top 12 films earned a poor $88 million. A year ago over the same weekend, the top 12 films took in $98.1 million on the strength of The Grey. Next weekend brings Stallone in Bullet to the Head, as it hopes to avoid the one and done that was Arnold’s Last Stand; the other opener is Warm Bodies, a teen zombie flick.

Top Weekend Box Office for 1/25/13-1/27/13 (Estimates)
Rank	Film	Distributor	Estimated Gross	Weekly Change	Running Total
1	Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters	Paramount	$19,000,000	New	$19,000,000
2	Mama	UNIVERSAL	$12,860,190	- 55%	$48,647,630
3	Silver Linings Playbook	The Weinstein Company	$10,000,000	- 7%	$69,464,627
4	Zero Dark Thirty	Sony/Columbia	$9,800,000	- 38%	$69,904,000
5	Parker		$7,000,000	New	$7,000,000
6	Django Unchained	The Weinstein Company	$5,005,000	- 35%	$146,294,826
7	Movie 43	Relativity	$5,000,000	New	$5,000,000
8	Gangster Squad	Warner Bros.	$4,200,000	- 51%	$39,647,000
9	Broken City	Fox	$4,000,000	- 52%	$15,269,989
10	Les Miserables	UNIVERSAL	$3,911,700	- 48%	$137,236,850
11	Lincoln	DreamWorks	$3,874,000	- 29%	$167,062,000
12	A Haunted House	Open Road	$3,351,560	- 59%	$35,547,541
	Also Opening/Notables
	John Dies At the End	Magnolia	$14,000	New	$14,000
	The Last Stand	Lionsgate	$2,100,000	- 67%	$10,633,945
	Quartet	Weinstein Co.	$1,149,000	+ 278%	$1,689,829
	Parental Guidance	Twentieth Century Fox	$2,525,000	- 41%	$70,867,813
	Amour	Sony Classics	$480,969	- 29%	$1,814,877
	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey	Warner Bros.	$3,310,000	- 46%	$293,248,000
	Life of Pi	Twentieth Century Fox	$2,650,000	- 21%	$103,490,360
	Argo	Warner Bros.	$1,825,000	- 19%	$117,581,000
Box office data supplied by Exhibitor Relations

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