It was Jessica Chastain vs. Jessica Chastain at the box office on Friday night with her new film “Mama” bowing with a strong $10 million, giving it the edge over the Oscar nominee’s other current release, “Zero Dark Thirty,” which pulled in another $4.5 million in its second week of wide release. Meanwhile, “The Last Stand,” Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to leading man status, bombed.
“Mama” the Guillermo del Toro-produced horror film starring Chastain, is expected to gross around $30 million for the long weekend (which includes the Monday holiday for many schools), a significant sum for the low budget picture.
Chastain pulled a double-shift this weekend, also starring in the holdover “Zero Dark Thirty.” The Kathryn Bigelow-directed film has so far earned $42.8 million domestically.
Newcomer “Broken City,” a crime drama starring Russell Crowe and Mark Wahlberg, fared less spectacularly, drawing a decent $3 million on Friday. Look for it to earn between $10 million and $12 million for the three-day.
David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook” continues to benefit from its recent multiple Oscar nominations. The films, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, added another $2.9 million to its domestic total which now stands at $46.9 million.
Warner Bros.’ actioner “Gangster Squad” brought him $2.6 million on Friday. Stars Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Sean Penn have powered the film to a $27.5 million total.
Virtually tying with holdovers “Django Unchained” (which carved up $2.1 million) and “Les Miserables” ($2 million) was Schwarzenegger’s action film “The Last Stand,” which may already be making its last stand in theaters very soon.
Despite some strong reviews, the film, which also stars Johnny Knoxville, clearly didn’t connect with audiences and earned just $2 million. It’s expected to earn between $6 million and $7 million for the weekend.
Look for complete weekend estimates Sunday on HitFix.