The supernatural thriller screamed past fellow horror flick "Mama," which fell into the second slot in its second weekend in theaters.
"Mama," in which a shadowy being trails two young children rescued after being lost in the woods when their parents died, took in $12.9 million.
The dark romantic comedy "Silver Linings Playbook," still riding a boost after its star Jennifer Lawrence scored a best comedy actress Golden Globe, stayed in third place, pushing the Oscar-tipped bin Laden manhunt movie "Zero Dark Thirty" down to fourth.
"Silver Linings," which was in 10th place just two weeks ago before the Globe win, was set to earn $10 million this weekend.
The acclaimed but controversial "Zero Dark Thirty" was just behind with $9.8 million in box office sales.
Another new release, "Parker," starring Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez as an unlikely pair working together on a heist, opened in fifth place, with $7 million in its opening weekend.
Meanwhile, Quentin Tarantino's blood-soaked spaghetti Western tribute "Django Unchained," which took home two Globes and four Oscar nominations, rose to sixth place, earning slightly more than $5 million at the box office.
That put it just barely ahead of the third new release to open in the top ten this week. Star-studded "Movie 43," a comedy featuring interconnected short films that follow three kids' search for the most banned movie in the world, earned $5 million in ticket sales.
Trailing just behind were Sean Penn action flick "Gangster Squad," with $4.2 million, and crime drama "Broken City," at $4 million.
And rounding out the top 10 was musical adaptation "Les Miserables," which took in $3.9 million.
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"Mama," in which a shadowy being trails two young children rescued after being lost in the woods when their parents died, took in $12.9 million.
The dark romantic comedy "Silver Linings Playbook," still riding a boost after its star Jennifer Lawrence scored a best comedy actress Golden Globe, stayed in third place, pushing the Oscar-tipped bin Laden manhunt movie "Zero Dark Thirty" down to fourth.
"Silver Linings," which was in 10th place just two weeks ago before the Globe win, was set to earn $10 million this weekend.
The acclaimed but controversial "Zero Dark Thirty" was just behind with $9.8 million in box office sales.
Another new release, "Parker," starring Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez as an unlikely pair working together on a heist, opened in fifth place, with $7 million in its opening weekend.
Meanwhile, Quentin Tarantino's blood-soaked spaghetti Western tribute "Django Unchained," which took home two Globes and four Oscar nominations, rose to sixth place, earning slightly more than $5 million at the box office.
That put it just barely ahead of the third new release to open in the top ten this week. Star-studded "Movie 43," a comedy featuring interconnected short films that follow three kids' search for the most banned movie in the world, earned $5 million in ticket sales.
Trailing just behind were Sean Penn action flick "Gangster Squad," with $4.2 million, and crime drama "Broken City," at $4 million.
And rounding out the top 10 was musical adaptation "Les Miserables," which took in $3.9 million.
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