Despite a massive winter storm that may have kept most of the Northeast at home instead of at the theaters, the box office was rather strong this weekend with Identity Thief leading the way. Melissa McCarthy's first starring vehicle was an undeniable success. The poorly reviewed, R-rated comedy topped the box office with $36.5 million. That exceeds expectations by about $15 million and creates the first bona-fide hit of the year. The legs on the film may not be great however, with only a B Cinemascore. But still, Identity Thief proves that McCarthy and co-star Jason Bateman can take a film to the top and it could reach $100 million. In second place was Summit's Warm Bodies. The film grossed another $11.5 million which is only a 43% drop from last weekend. That is strong for a teenager-driven film and it could boast even better numbers over the five day weekend that will begin at the end of next week. Warm Bodies has now grossed $36.6 million. In third was Steven Soderbergh's Side Effects. After a big 2012 that boasted a big hit in Magic Mike, Soderbergh's latest only grossed $10 million. That is more in line with Haywire, his 2012 flop than any other hit of his. This film also received a B Cinemascore which does not bode well for the future. Silver Linings Playbook added another $6.9 million this weekend to reach a total of $90 million at the box office. The critical darling and audience favorite should peak next weekend with the Oscars nearing and Valentine's Day. Expect this film to finish around $120 million or higher. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters was in fifth place this weekend to hit $43 million. The film added $5.7 million and has showed decent legs, which I did not expect. Universal's Mama finished in 6th place, with a total gross of $64 million so far. Zero Dark Thirty finished in seventh. The Bin Laden thriller has now grossed $83 million. This film and Silver Linings Playbook opened at around the same time and were neck and neck but it is now clear that Playbook won the battle. In 8th is our future best picture winner, Argo. The film added $2 million to raise it's total to $123 million. And to round out the top ten, Django Unchained finished in 9th with $2.2 million to raise its total to $154 million and Bullet To the Head grossed another $1.9 million. Next weekend sees the release of A Good Day To Die Hard, Beautiful Creatures and Safe Haven. Die Hard is going to be a hit but I question how well the other two will do. We'll have to wait and see.
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