Horror flick 'Mama' wins the weekend box office

Horror flick 'Mama' wins the weekend box office

George Kraychyk/Universal/Everett Collection

Jessica Chastain (left) stars in horror flick 'Mama.'

 

Jessica Chastain is the new “It” girl of American cinema â€" at least for a week.

 

Chastain’s two current films â€" “Mama” and “Zero Dark Thirty” â€" came in first and second place respectively in the weekend box office race.

 

The two films featuring the Oscar-nominated Chastain easily dominated new releases from established stars Mark Wahlberg and Arnold Schwarzenegger, which both had lackluster showings.

 

Commercial and artistic success is new for Chastain, whose resume includes Terrence Malick’s baffling “The Tree of Life” and the hokey “The Help.”

 

“Mama,” which was executive produced by Guillermo Del Toro â€" the man behind comparable hits “Hellboy” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” â€" raked in a surprising $ 28.1 million at the box office.

 

Experts attributed the flick’s success to its rating, which attracted a wide audience.

 

“Never underestimate the drawing power of a PG-13 horror film,” said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.

 

In the film, Chastain plays a raven-haired rocker who adopts two cursed kids who bring nothing but trouble into her happy home.

 

Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal Pictures, also acknowledged the popularity of a flick heavy on the scares and light on the gore.

 

“That’s why we did it,” she said. “It’s a fun film without a lot of extraordinary violence,” said Rocco, who added she would have been “thrilled” with a debut in the mid- to high-teens. “Young people like scary stuff.”

 

Including Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Universal expected “Mama” to finish with $ 33.2 million by the end of Monday.

 

Chastain is also in “Zero Dark Thirty” as the obsessed CIA agent leading the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. In its second week, the suspenseful thriller earned $ 17.6 million.

 

Meanwhile Wahlberg and Russell Crowe’s crime drama “Broken City” busted at the box office, earning a paltry $ 9 million and finishing in fifth place.

 

And following the sorry showing of “The Last Stand,” the movie may be just that for Schwarzenegger as a leading man. The 65-year-old now carries a lot of baggage at the box office following his eight-year stint as governor of California and an embarrassing affair with his nanny. 

 

His flick in which he portrays a small-town sheriff yielded a meager $ 6.3 million and landed with a thud in 10th place.

 

Experts attributed both films’ poor performances to competition from similar movies like “Django Unchained,” and “Gangster Squad.”

 

“It’s an incredibly competitive marketplace for testosterone-driven films,” said Dergarabedian.

“Mama,” on the other hand, was a hit with female moviegoers, who comprised 61% of its audience. 

The romantic comedy “Silver Linings Playbook” was also a smash in its expanded 10th week of release.

It came in third place with $ 11.4 million.

 

With wire services