Oscar Hopeful ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Expected To Dominate Box Office This Weekend

Best Picture Nominee “Zero Dark Thirty” is expected to dominate at the box office this weekend . It is extremely unlikely that newcomers like “Gangster Squad” and “A Haunted House” will have any shot against the highly anticipated film.

The film has already been out on limited release for a few weeks now, and is expected to have a huge boosts in sales thanks to the Oscar nods. “This movie is a lot bigger than New York and L.A,” said Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.net. “I think it will be huge once it expands because Sony has done everything right with the marketing, and the controversy has just built awareness and interest across the rest of the country. ”

Exhibitor Relations box office analyst Jeff Bock predicted the film to earn and estimated $25 million domestically over the weekend. It will expand to more than 2,600 theaters. “It will take an army to stop it. When ‘The Hurt Locker’ won Best Picture in 2010, ti was already on DVD and grossed a total of just $17 million, making it one of the lowest grossing Best Picture winners ever.”

Last weekend’s highest earner, “Texas Chainsaw 3D” is expected to suffer a deep decline in its second week. “Gangster Squad” was moved from an earlier release date in the wake of the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado to remove a scene that involved a theater shooting. However, the film has a great line up with actors such a Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, and Emma Stone.

Shanika Simmons