CinemaNerdz

Box Office Weekend: Violence Brings in the New Year as Texas Chainsaw and Django Unchained Lead

Seth Paul
Box Office

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3DBe it chopping off limbs or…threatening to chop off certain limbs, there is no shortage of moviegoers starting 2013 by seeing plenty of blood and gore, whether it was that this week’s big winner (but critical loser) Texas Chainsaw 3D with an estimated $23 million or critical winner Django Unchained with an estimated $20.1 million. Django Unchained is still not director Quentin Tarantino’s most successful film, but by next week it may very well be. With only two weeks in the box office, it is only $20 million away from toppling his Inglourious Basterds and a million from breaking past his 1994 crime classic Pulp Fiction. Both beat out The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which made only an estimated $17.5 million in week three, and Les Misérables, which held fourth with $16.1 million. Despite The Hobbit refusing to divulge details on its budget costs, even if the film cost a fortune there is very little of which to be ashamed, since the film has made a stunning $263.8 million domestically and an incredible $824.8 million worldwide. And while assuredly all four films in the top four are successes, Les Misérables is arguably the most successful in terms of profit, as the $61 million budgeted film has made $103.6 million so far, as opposed to the $106.3 million Django Unchained has earned over a $100 million budget (or Texas Chainsaw 3D’s $23 million over its $20 million).

The critically panned Parental Guidance, as one of the few family friendly films currently showing, has also done well, earning an estimated $10.1 million and $52.7 million domestically, and showing Billy Crystal can still do quite well against himself (Monsters, Inc. 3D, also starring Crystal, did not even place in the top ten in its third week). Jack Reacher and This is 40 did well against their costs, with Jack Reacher earning an estimated $9.3 million and This is 40 picking up an estimated $8.6 million. While Tom Cruise’s action vehicle is a step up from the previous Rock of Ages, it is still a middling earner for the box office star, as is This is 40 for director Judd Apatow, who is seeing a step up from 2009’s Funny People but a major step down from 2007’s Knocked Up, which This is 40 is a spin-off from.

Lincoln, the veteran of the board at nine weeks of release, remains a strong contender with an estimated $5.3 million, giving director Steven Spielberg’s film a domestic total of $143.9 million, a film almost twice as successful domestically as his last two (The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse) combined. Below it, the Seth Rogen comedy The Guilt Trip struggles at the box office, its estimated $4.5 million giving it only $31.2 million total earnings on its $40 million budget, as does the wide release of the critically mixed Promised Land. The Matt Damon starring, Gus Van Sant directed drama about a small town’s fight against a company that seeks to bring “fracking” to their community made an estimated $4.3 million, a major increase over its $173k opening weekend, but still an unimpressive debut for a film surrounded by controversy and a $15 million budget.

Weekend Box Office (January 4th – January 6th)

  1. Texas Chainsaw 3D…$23 million
  2. Django Unchained…$20.1 million
  3. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey…$17.5 million
  4. Les Misérables…$16.1 million
  5. Parental Guidance…$10.1 million
  6. Jack Reacher…$9.3 million
  7. This is 40…$8.6 million
  8. Lincoln…$5.3 million
  9. The Guilt Trip…$4.5 million
  10. Promised Land…$4.3 million

Seth Paul

When not failing to write novels and screenplays, box-office guru Seth writes humorous comedy tracks for films under the name "The One Man Band" that can be found at Rifftrax.com. Although, he has recently succeeded in writing the novella "Jack Alan and the Case of the Not-Exactly Rocket Scientists," available as an eBook on Amazon. He is also the English voice of Zak in "Zak McKracken: Between Time and Space."
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