Movies

‘Lone Survivor’ Has Second Biggest January Opening Ever

January 13, 2014

The Navy SEALS war thriller Lone Survivor surged to the top of the box office this weekend, taking in an estimated $38.5 million, making it the second-highest opening for a wide release film in January. The only film to have a better debut in January was 2008’s Cloverfield with $40.1 million.

The triumph of Lone Survivor, starring Mark Wahlberg, was extremely good news for director Peter Berg since his last film, Battleship, bombed at the box office. The film opened with $25 million, but had a $209 million budget. Lone Survivor‘s success exceeded industry expectations, beating the openings of similar films like Zero Dark Thirty and Black Hawk Down. The action-drama is based on the memoirs of Navy SEALs officer Marcus Luttrell and has earned a rare ‘A+’ CinemaScore across all demographics.

Coming in second for the weekend was Disney’s Frozen, which generated $15.1 million in its seventh weekend in theaters. This is the fourth biggest seventh weekend ever, coming behind only Avatar, Titanic, and The Passion of the Christ. The musical fantasy film has now grossed a total of $317.7 million, making it currently the seventh biggest animation hit.

Martin Scorsese’sThe Wolf of Wall Street took the third spot for the weekend with $9 million, bringing the film to a total of $78.6 million. Leonardo DiCaprio received a Golden Globe last night for his role in the film.

The Legend of Hercules, starring Twilight‘s Kellan Lutz, had a very small opening this weekend, grossing only $8.6 million. American Hustle rounded out the Top 5 this weekend with $8.6 million. Meanwhile, possible Oscar contenders had modest openings. August: Osage County, starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, opened with an estimate of $7.3 million. Her, featuring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson, grossed $5.4 million over the weekend.

Check out the Top 10 at the box office for this past weekend: