Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain stars in the top two releases in North America after Mama debuted at number one and Zero Dark Thirty slipped one place to number two. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first starring role in almost a decade, The Last Stand, flopped in tenth place.

Guillermo del Toro served as executive producer on Mama, Andy Muschietti’s US-Spanish-Canadian horror story about a pair of feral girls found in the woods are reintegrated into a family.

Annapurna Pictures’ Oscar nominee Zero Dark Thirty added $17.6m through Columbia Pictures to reach a promising $55.9m after five weekends in release. The procedural thriller about the hunt for Osama bin Laden started out in limited pattern and expanded wide last weekend.

The other one to watch is The Weinstein Company’s Silver Linings Playbook, which has also benefited from Oscar nominations and strong word of mouth throughout awards season.

The rom-com spent most of its early days in a limited pattern and expanded this weekend – its tenth – by 1,713 to 2.523 theatres, adding $1.4m to stand at $55.3m.

Fox 2000’s multiple Oscar nominee Life Of Pi will cross $100m in North America any day now. The film currently ranks 13th and added $3.4m through Fox to reach $99.2m in its ninth weekend. The international running total stands at $393.9m.

Lincoln in 11th place stands at $160.5m after 11 weekends through Buena Vista and Argo has reached $114.9m after 15 weekends through Warner Bros.

Two products of the independent space failed to make a big splash. Crime tale Broken City starring Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe, arrived in fifth place on a lacklustre $9m, while Lionsgate’s Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle The Last Stand came in tenth on $6.3m.

One year ago in Sundance audiences and critics lapped up the drama LUV. The film finally went on release through Indomina Media and grossed $90,000 from 45 sites.

Next weekend’s wide releases include Paramount’s Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters starring Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton and Famke Janssen; Relativity Media’s star-studded comedy Movie 43; and FilmDistrict’s action thriller Parker, which unites Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez.

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Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters

Estimated Top 10 North America Jan 18-20 2012
Film (Dist) / Est wkd gross / Est total to date

1 (-) Mama (Universal) UPI $28.1m –

2 (1) Zero Dark Thirty (Columbia Pictures) Panorama $17.6m $55.9m

3 (10) Silver Linings Playbook (TWC) TWC International $11.4m $55.3m

4 (3) Gangster Squad (Warner Bros) WBPI $9.1m $32.2m

5 (-) Broken City (Fox) Inferno $9m –

6 (2) A Haunted House (Open Road) Octane $8.3m $29.9m

7 (4) Django Unchained (TWC) SPRI $8.2m $138.4m

8 (5) Les Misérables (Universal/Working Title) UPI $7.8m $130.4m

9 (6) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros/New Line/MGM) WBPI $6.4m $287.4m

10 (-) The Last Stand (Lionsgate) Lionsgate International $6.3m –