Kathryn Bigelow's controversial Osama bin Laden film "Zero Dark Thirty" had no problem beating out the other newcomers this weekend, which was a bit of a surprise.
Ryan Gosling's period piece "Gangster Squad" grossly underperformed at theaters. However, that wasn't a surprise.
The film had the circumstantial odds stacked against it. Originally set to premiere last year, "Squad" was pushed back after the shooting in Aurora during a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises." Then, weeks ahead of it's January release, the Newtown shooting occurred.
The film, also starring Emma Stone and Sean Penn, couldn't even do battle with a new horror film out this week, and, we're not talking about "Chainsaw Massacre." The film took a hard tumble in week two.
Out of the top ten this week include Tom Cruise's "Jack Reacher," Judd Apatow's "This Is 40," and "The Guilt Trip."
Here are this week's winners and losers at the box office:
10. Oscars nods got viewers to head out to theaters to see "Silver Linings Playbook" to bring it back into the top ten. The Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper flick earned $5 million.
9. The largest drop at theaters this week was "Texas Chainsaw 3D" dipping from the top spot last week with $5.1 million. It's looking unlikely the film will earn more than $40 million after its impressive $23 million opening.
8. "Parental Guidance" drops three spots earning $6.1 million. In three weeks, the film has earned $83.2 million. It cost an estimated $25 million to make.
7. Oscar nod leader "Lincoln" moves up one notch this week earning $6.3 million.
6. With two new releases this weekend, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" drops three spots with $9 million. The "Lord of the Rings" prequel has now earned more than $866 million worldwide.
5. "Les Misérables" earns $10.1 million in week three. The film's $13.4 million debut in the U.K. made it Universal's highest-grossing opening there to date.
4. "Django Unchained" continues to beat out "Les Mis" with $11 million. Quentin Tarantino's latest Oscar-nominated film has earned $125.4 million in three weeks.
3. "Gangster Squad" fails to make a big splash with $16.7 million, having to settle for third place.
2. Instead, newcomer "A Haunted House" comes in second with $18.8 million. The low-budget film cost an estimated $2.5 million to produce.
1. And, "Zero Dark Thirty" leads the pack this week taking in $24 million. Its debut comes in higher than that of both Oscar-nominated films "Lincoln" ($21 million) and "Argo" ($19.5 million).
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