In its first week of wide release, Zero Dark Thirty has topped the US Box Office chart, taking $24 million as it expanded onto over 2,800 screens from just over a hundred. Its success came as a surprise to many, who’d expected Gangster Squad to top the chart.
In the end the gangster noir placed third with $16.7 million, which isn’t a bad start, but probably not what Warner was hoping for its star studded movie, which has had a lot of buzz ever since the screenplay first started doing the rounds in Hollywood.
Proving spoof horror can still find an audience, the Marlon Wayans starring A Haunted House placed second on the chart with $18.8 million.
Those were the only new entries on the chart, but a couple films got a bump from the Oscar nominations, with Lincoln rising 16% from the previous weekend to take its US takings across the $150 million mark. Silver Linings Playbook also got a 38% bump to return to the top 10, thanks to its eight Oscar nominations.
Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of January 11th-13th.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | Zero Dark Thirty | $24.0 | $29.4 |
| 2 | A Haunted House | $18.8 | $18.8 |
| 3 | Gangster Squad | $16.7 | $16.7 |
| 4 | Django Unchained | $11.0 | $125.3 |
| 5 | Les Miserables | $10.1 | $119.2 |
| 6 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | $9.0 | $278.1 |
| 7 | Lincoln | $6.3 | $152.5 |
| 8 | Parental Guidance | $6.1 | $60.6 |
| 9 | Texas Chainsaw 3D | $5.1 | $30.7 |
| 10 | Silver Linings Playbook | $5.0 | $41.3 |
Going into this weekend, most box office watcher had expected Django Unchained and The Hobbit to fight it out for the top spot, with few thinking Texas Chainsaw 3D would be in the mix. In the end it was the horror movie that topped the chart with $23 million, far more than most expected.
Despite some stiff competition from newbies Les Miserables and Django Unchained, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey held them them off to top the box office for a third weekend, taking another $32 million. That takes its US total past the $200 million mark, while worldwide it moves past $600 million.