Lone Survivor Has 2nd Best January Debut

Universal Picture’s Lone Survivor delivered the second best January opening weekend in history with a final result of $37.85 million earned between Friday and Sunday (Jan. 10-12). That beats 1997’s Star Wars: Special Edition ($35.9 million) and lands just behind 2008’s Cloverfield ($40.1 million). Counting the film’s limited release grosses, Lone Survivor‘s domestic total is $38.23 million.

Taylor Kitsch, left, and Mark Wahlberg play Navy SEALs in Lone Survivor. (Photo: Gregory R. Peters/Universal Pictures)

Frozen landed in second place last weekend, its seventh in wide release, with $14.7 million, a 25 percent drop from the previous weekend. Disney’s animated sensation has earned $317.3 million domestically so far and moved into the 34th spot on the all-time domestic chart.

Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street pulled in another $8.84 million last weekend, down 33 percent from the previous weekend. The controversial comedy/drama has earned $78.4 million domestically up to this point. Following Sunday night’s Golden Globe win for Leonardo DiCaprio, and this Thursday’s likely Oscar nominations for the film, Wolf should still have quite a bit of life left in it through January and February.

Lionsgate’s The Legend of Hercules earned a disappointing $8.87 million in its debut weekend. The 3D movie was unable to capitalize on leading man Kellan Lutz’s semi-popularity from his appearances in the Twilight films.

American Hustle took in another $8.3 million last weekend, a 33 percent drop from the previous weekend, which helped it cross the $100 million mark. Domestic earnings now stand at $101.3 million, a figure which will continue to climb following Sunday’s Golden Globe victories for Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence and the film itself’s win for Best Musical or Comedy. American Hustle is widely expected to rack up a number of Oscar nominations later this week.

August: Osage County fared well in its 905-theater expansion last weekend. With $7.7 million in all so far, the all-star ensemble led by Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts has easily been the film’s best advantage so far. Although considered an underdog this awards season, any love from the Academy on Thursday could help strengthen the film’s long term prospects.