“Lone Survivor,” which expanded from 2 to 2875 theaters this weekend, finished a dominant number one at the box office.
Directed by Peter Berg and starring Mark Wahlberg, the film earned an estimated $38.5 million. Based on its rare A+ CinemaScore, it also stands a good chance of benefiting from word-of-mouth in the weeks ahead.
“Frozen,” the number two film, earned less than half of the “Lone Survivor” total. It grossed $15.1 million, which was easily enough to best “The Wolf of Wall Street” ($9 million).
New release “The Legend of Hercules” did not enjoy the same magic imparted on “Lone Suvivor.” It garnered fourth place with a poor $8.6 million in receipts. “American Hustle” followed with a similar mark.
Like “Lone Survivor,” previously limited releases “August: Osage County” and “Her” expanded this week. “August,” which broadened from 5 to 905 theaters, claimed seventh with $7.3 million.
Even though “Her” embarked on a wider expansion to 1729 theaters, it could only manage $5.4 million for an eleventh place finish