'Zero Dark Thirty,' 'Silver Linings' Get Box-Office Boost From Nominations

Todd Cunningham
'Zero Dark Thirty,' 'Silver Linings' Get Box-Office Boost After Nominations

"Zero Dark Thirty" made the most of its expansion this weekend, running up a very strong $45,834 per-screen average from 60 locations in 11 cities.

Kathryn Bigelow's tale of the hunt for Osama bin Laden brought in $2.75 million, after expanding from five locations in two markets this weekend in the wake of several nominations from the Producers Guild and Writers Guild. Its overall total after three weeks is $4.4 million. Sony plans to go wide next week, after Thursday's Oscar nominations.

Also read: 'Texas Chainsaw' Rips Through 'Django,' 'Hobbit,' 'Les Miz' at Box Office

The Weinstein Company's "Silver Linings Playbook," which also earned nominations from the PGA and WGA, appeared to have received a boost, too. It dropped just 11 percent – the best of any film in wide release – and brought in $3.6 million from 745 screens, a $4,847 per theater. It has now brought in $34.6 million over its eight weeks.

Also read: 'Lincoln,' 'Zero Dark Thirty,' 'Les Miz' Land Producers Guild Nominations

"We think we're positioned very well for the long haul," Erik Lomis, Weinstein's head of distribution told TheWrap Sunday. The studio plans to go wide with the dark comedy from David O. Russell on Jan. 18, the Martin Luther King holiday weekend.

Also read: 'Argo,' 'Lincoln,' 'Zero Dark Thirty' Score Writers Guild Nominations

DreamWorks' and Disney's "Lincoln" continued to build on an overall gross far in excess of pre-release expectations. Steven Spielberg's historical drama starring Daniel Day-Lewis upped its overall domestic total to $143 million – more than double what analysts had predicted – by adding $5.2 million from 1,901 theaters. Disney also plans to add theaters Friday, in what will be its 10th week in release.

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