Schwarzenegger Tanks While del Toro's Mama Takes #1 at the Box Office

Mama

, the PG-13-rated horror film produced by Pacific Rim director Guillermo del Toro, took #1 at the box office with an expected four-day take of more than $30 million. Meanwhile The Last Stand, Arnold Schwarzenegger's first top-lining movie since becoming the governor of California, is expected to finish out of the long weekend with less than $8 million. It's likely that Lionsgate will take a hit on the movie which, like the studio's critically acclaimed Judge Dredd adaptation Dredd 3D, won't even crack the top five films at the box office for its opening weekend. Mama cost only about $15 million to make, and was based on a short film and produced by del Toro, famous for creepy works like Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy. Following an opening weekend that will more than double that production budget, don't be surprised to see sequel announcements hitting soon. Jessica Chastain, who almost starred in Iron Man 3 before having to pull out to fulfill other commitments, was the dominant force at the box office this weekend, with both Mama and Zero Dark Thirty taking up the top two spots. Following them in the top five is The Silver Linings Playbook with The Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence; Broken City starring Transformers 4 star Mark Wahlberg and Gangster Squad, written by Justice League writer Will Beall. The PG-13 horror market is an unpredictable one; while movies like The Ring have done well in the past, many hardcore horror fans prefer an R-rated movie where the filmmakers can be as violent, gory and generally irreverent as they want.