Three newcomers failed to ignite a slow box office Friday night, with the revisionist fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” Fellow newbies “Movie 43” and “Parker” while holdover “Mama” and Oscar nominees “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Zero Dark Thirty” continue to play well.
Hampered by bad weather in parts of the U.S., “Hansel” was able to top the box office with a lower-than-expected $6 million. It’s projected to make around for $17 million the weekend, which is lower than was projected for the Jeremy Renner actioner which cost a reported $50 million.
The inexpensive, Guillermo del Toro-produced horror film “Mama,” starring Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain, scared up $3.8 million, bringing its domestic take to a handsome $39.5 million.
“Silver Linings Playbook” and “Zero Dark Thirty” are still experiencing big boosts from their recent Oscar nominations. The former came in third place, earning another $2.3 million, bringing its domestic total to $61.8 million. “ZDT,” meanwhile, also picked up around $2.3 million for fourth place. It has so far earned $62.4 million in the U.S.
“Parker” rounds out the top five, after carving up a disappointing $2.1 million. The Jason Statham shoot-’em-up will likely earn around $6 million over its opening weekend.
Audiences apparently aren’t amused by “Movie 43,” the third wide opener this weekend. Even stars like Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Emma Stone and Halle Berry couldn’t lure viewers to the new anthology comedy. It earned just $1.8 million on Friday, and will struggle to top $5 million for the three-day. The numbers are lower than expected, but the bright spot is that the film only cost a reported $6 million.
Look for complete weekend estimates Sunday on HitFix.