Audiences ended the three-week reign of The Hobbit at the top of the box office charts and ushered in a new #1 in the form of Leatherface.
Texas Chainsaw 3D debuted in first place, grossing $23 million, well above my modest $16.1M projection and #4 opening prediction. Horror films are generally tough to predict and, more often than not, they make more than expected. While the opening is impressive, horror films like Chainsaw often experience huge drop-offs in their second weekend and I would expect that to happen in this case.
Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained held at #2, as I predicted. It earned $20.1 million, right on course with my $20.6M projection. With over $100 million domestically in 10 days, Django is poised to pass Inglourious Basterds as Quentin’s highest grossing film in the United States.
I wrongly predicted The Hobbit would hold at #1 and gross $20.8 million. It fell further than I figured, grossing $17.5M for a third place finish.
Les Miserables also fell a bit further than my projection. At fourth, it made $16.1 million, lower than my $18.8M estimate.
The next three holiday holdovers all held close to my prediction margin: at fifth, Parental Guidance with $10.1 million (my projection: $10.2M). At sixth, Jack Reacher with $9.3 million (my projection: $9M). At seventh, This Is 40 with $8.6 million (my projection: $7.8M).
Finally, I was right on target with the other two pictures that opened wider. Matt Damon’s Promised Land failed to capture a decent audience, earning $4.3 million (I projected $4.2M). The Naomi Watts tsunami drama The Impossible was on a lower amount of screens and did an OK $2.8 million (I projected $2.6M).
Be sure to check back Wednesday for my predictions for next weekend, when the buzzed about Zero Dark Thirty is finally released nationwide and Gangster Squad come out.
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