'Zero Dark' Has Arrived

Welcome to the Box Office Report where we're talking about curious casting, the Olympics, and movies about aspiring marble champions.

Welcome to the Box Office Report where we're talking about curious casting, the Olympics, and movies about aspiring marble champions.

1. Zero Dark Thirty (Sony): $24 million in 2,937 theaters

There's no real surprise that Zero Dark is here, right? While the movie has been available for weeks in major markets, this is the first weekend of its wide release. You can see the Bin Laden movie now, Arkansas! So, what does everyone think? How many more times will we hear Chris Pratt say "Osama bin Laaah-din," in the trailers before we just give them the Oscar? (Conservative estimates say 314 more times.) (And also how the heck did Chris Pratt get cast in this movie?)

2. A Haunted House (Open Road): $18.8 million in 2,160 theaters

What do you get when you take the original writers and stars of the first Scary Movie and get them to write another Scary Movie sequel but they aren't allowed to call it a Scary Movie sequel because that one has Lindsay Lohan in it or something? You get whatever this movie is.

3. Gangster Squad (Warner): $16.7 in 3,103 theaters

The Box Office Report does not care if this movie isn't as good as everyone wanted it to be. It looks like a fun shoot'em up with pretty people and really that's all we can ask for between heavy doses of Academy movies. This is a pretty disappointing performance for Gangster Squad financially, but we suspect strong "it was a lot of fun!" word of mouth to carry it.

4. Django Unchained (Weinstein Company): $11.1 million in 3,012 theaters [Week 3]

Would Rafalca have done better at the Olympics if Jamie Foxx was riding him? We say yes.

5. Les Miserables (Universal): $10.1 million in 2,927 theaters [Week 3]

If you're looking for some good alternative viewing, check out Les' Marbles on Netflix. It's about a boy's dream to be a world champion marble player until his mom inexplicably sells his prized cat's eye at a yard sale. He dreamed a dream, indeed.