“Texas Chainsaw 3D” continued the success of scare film franchise movies. They are usually very profitable since they have low production budgets and payrolls, plus they are ripe for repeat business. “Chainsaw” brought in $21.7 million last weekend, and it was the first in the series in 3D, which obviously meant higher basic ticket prices and helped run up the total gross numbers.

“Django Unchained,” another very bloody and violent film, came in second place with $20 million, giving it a grand total of $106.3 over a two week period.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” came in third place last weekend with $17.6 million, giving it a domestic total of $263.8 million over four weeks.

“Les Miserable” came in fourth with $16 million and now has $103.5 million in North America for two weeks. “Les Miserables” could turn out to be one of the best selling movie musicals ever worldwide.

The amiable domestic comedy “Parental Guidance” starrting Bette Midler and Billy Crystal as Grandparents was fifth with a total of $9.7 million in its second week and now has $52.3 million for two weeks in release. The disaster film “The Impossible” finished out of the top ten since it is in limited release on just 557 screens. For all the details on last week’s box office results, please click on the link below.

The Oscar nominations are being announced early this year. They will be revealed at 7:30 AM CDT on Thursday, January 10th. Frontrunners are “Lincoln” and “Zero Dark Thirty.”

http://www.boxoffice.com/statistics/bo_numbers/actual_estimate/2013-01-07