Monday Morning Box Office Report: Mama Manhandles Arnold

Posted by on January 21st, 2013   Filed under: Box Office

It’s becoming increasingly clear that January is a great month to release scary movies as yet another horror flick exceeded expectations to dominate the box office this past weekend. The Guillermo del Toro-produced Mama debuted with $28 million, which is even more than Texas Chainsaw 3D made a couple of weeks ago, although this one had a PG-13 rating. Zero Dark Thirty fell to #2, putting Jessica Chastain in the top two movies in the U.S. currently. Meanwhile Silver Linings Playbook jumped to #3 after expanding to more theatres, and Gangster Squad and Broken City rounded out the top 5. As for Arnold Schwarzenegger, his return to the big screen was not so triumphant as The Last Stand just barely cracked the top 10 in its opening weekend, earning just $6.3 million. Perhaps ’80s action stars really do have an expiration date after all. Why do you think The Last Stand tanked?

1. Mama — $28.1M
2. Zero Dark Thirty — $17.6M
3. Silver Linings Playbook — $11.4M
4. Gangster Squad — $9.11M
5. Broken City — $9M
6. A Haunted House — $8.33M
7. Django Unchained — $8.24M
8. Les Misérables — $7.81M
9. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey — $6.45M
10. The Last Stand — $6.3M



  • Steve Kasan

    Why did The Last Stand tank? Who knows?
    MLK Weekend. Except for his fans (like me) nobody wants to see an old Arnold? AFC Championship game. It’s January. It’s Rated R. It was marketed with Johnny Knoxxville? It’s Oscar season and audiences who want to look smart start watching big nominated films? The film is too close with it’s liberal use of firearms?
    Who knows and who can predict audiences. WHy did Dredd perform poorly?

    I saw the film and enjoyed it. It was a nice gradual return for Arnold. The film is really good maybe word of mouth can help it next week.

  • Andrew

    I have no idea about why this film would open so low, but my theory about Dredd was that it killed itself with excess 3D.

  • Andrew

    *In the NZ/Aus market and especially the UK market. The US must be a different story.

    And you’d think The Last Stand must have something to do with advertising or timing if The Expendables can still kill(?).

  • The reviews I’ve read for “The Last Stand” in Canada have been terrible.
    I’m not surprised at the low box office because the plot looks like it was taken directly from an episode of the “The A-Team”
    I pity the fools who saw it.

  • baron von testicle

    It looked like a generic made-for-television bore without hinting at anything more.

    If this insistence on geriatric “action” must continue, I need to see one of these fools get punched in the colostomy bag and have that shit explode in slo-mo.

    Also, Knoxville. What the fuck.

  • kyri

    Don’t worry Arnold we – the International Market – will save you! …if you ever get a theatrical release overhere

  • I think it was just bad timing for The Last Stand.

  • LeShae17

    Yeah, bad timing and, hey, who wouldn’t pass seeing a G Del Toro movie with Andrew Lincoln?

  • Apparently Andrew Lincoln, because Andrew Lincoln wasn’t in it.

  • Andrew

    Everything I have heard has been surprising positive on this one, and from reviewers surprised that they are positive.

    And an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie from the director of some good Korean Cult films, why not?