Bin Laden film tops US box office

Controversial Osama bin Laden manhunt drama earns $24 million on its first weekend according to studio estimates.“Zero Dark Thirty,” which opened in a limited run last month, earned five Oscar nominations last week, including best picture, original screenplay and actress for Jessica Chastain as a dogged CIA operative.
Open Road Films’ horror parody “A Haunted House” starring Marlon Wayans debuted in second place with a solid $18.8 million. The Warner Bros. mobster drama “Gangster Squad,” starring Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling as off-the-books police officers battling a mob boss played by Sean Penn, opened below expectations in third place with $16.7 million.
At the Golden Globes, “Zero Dark Thirty” star Jessica Chastain received an award for Best Actress in Motion Picture category. “Zero Dark Thirty” also competed against “Argo,” ”Django Unchained,” ”Life of Pi” and “Lincoln” in the best motion picture drama category.
It will also run against those films for the best picture prize at the Oscars ceremony, as well as “Amour,” ”Beasts of the Southern Wild,” ”Les Miserables” and “Silver Linings Playbook.”
Controversies surrounding “Zero Dark Thirty,” which depicts waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods, may have helped create buzz for the film.
Several lawmakers accused the CIA of misleading “Zero Dark Thirty” filmmakers by allegedly telling them such interrogation methods helped track down terrorist mastermind bin Laden in 2011.
“There are so many facets of ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ that have created interest in it,” said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony. “Ultimately, it’s a great film.
That’s the piece that you really need to have to get this great of a result. I think it’s a film that’s not only going to do well in the marketplace but also be talked about for years to come.”
The weekend’s third place finisher, “Gangster Squad,” similarly attracted controversy last year after the mass shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater left 12 dead.
Warner Bros. pulled the movie’s trailer and delayed the release out of sensitivity because the film originally featured a scene with mobsters ruthlessly shooting into a movie theater audience.
(Source: Foxnews)