Armed with machine guns and other over-the-top weaponry, Hansel and Gretel took in an estimated $19 million at North American movie theaters over the weekend â€" a total that, while strong enough for No. 1, represented far from a fairy-tale finish. Based on prerelease audience surveys, some analysts had predicted that “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters†(featuring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton as the title characters) could take in as much as $30 million.
A spokeswoman for Paramount, which co-financed the movie with Metro Goldwyn Mayer for $50 million, said on Sunday that “adjusting for the tough weather, the gross is in line with our prerelease estimates.†Paramount also noted that the movie had so far taken in $36 million overseas. “Mama†(Universal) was second with about $12.9 million in ticket sales, for a strong two-week total of $48.6 million, acording to Hollywood.com, which compiles box-office data.
“Silver Linings Playbook†(the Weinstein Company) chugged along in third place, taking in about $10 million, for an 11-week total of $69.5 million, while “Zero Dark Thirty†(Sony) slipped to the fourth spot, taking in an estimated $9.8 million, for a six-week total of $69.9 million. Taylor Hackford’s “Parker†did a belly flop, landing in fifth place, with ticket sales of about $7 million; a thriller starring Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez, it was independently financed for $30 million and distributed by FilmDistrict.
