The Afghanistan war movie Lone Survivor expanded wide this weekend and took in a huge $38 million for the top spot in a complete surprise win. The only recognizable name in the movie is Mark Wahlberg, who, while reliable, normally isn't a huge draw on his own, but the film also earned a rare "A+" Cinemascore, so it should be looking at some decent legs. The audience was 57% male and over the age of 30, so it's possible the content alone is what drew this audience in for the second biggest January debut ever. Frozen took second place with another tiny drop from last week, bringing its total to $317 million, and with awards success over the horizon, this might be able to challenge Despicable Me 2 for the title of highest grossing animated film of 2013 ($368 million).
In third was Wolf of Wall Street, which continues to be successful after its initial underwhelming weekend, bringing in $9 million for a total of $78 million so far, and with quite a few more weeks to go, as it will also grab awards attention and likely Oscar nominations this week. Fourth was the new release Legend of Hercules, which bombed with just $8 million, and in fifth place was American Hustle, also with $8 million to bring its gross just past the $100 million marker, and likely with a lot more to go as well, given expected awards heat. The movie will end up being David O. Russell's biggest hit yet.
Top 5
- Lone Survivor- $38.5 million
- Frozen- $15.1 million
- The Wolf of Wall Street- $9 million
- The Legend of Hercules- $8.6 million
- American Hustle- $8.6 million
Oscar movies August: Osage County, Her and Inside Llewyn Davis expanded this weekend to fairly middling results, as August did best, pulling in $7 million, while Her and Llewyn Davis faltered, especially Her, as it played in twice as many theaters as August did, and earned just $5 million. Potential for those films depends on award attention in the weeks ahead. Next week it's Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and the Ice Cube comedy Ride Along, as we'll see what movies will benefit from the Oscar nominations on Thursday, as they traditionally give several movies quite a big boost in theaters.
