‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Breaks Box Office Record

Since the release of Zero Dark Thirty’s teaser trailer back in August, there’s been much buzz around the film. The anonymity behind the film sparked up talk about what Academy Award Winning director Kathryn Bigelow had in store for moviegoers after The Hurt Locker.

When the full trailer was released in October, that talk only grew, as it was revealed that we would have our first Bin Laden-mission related film. Prior to the film’s opening on Wednesday, screenings had some critics up and arms about the torture shown in the film. Of course, this only pushed the controversy-driven plot out into the press, but could the buzz hold up in the box office?

Well, according to Deadline, controversy is sometimes the best press for an already critically acclaimed film. Along with its bevy of nominations earned from the Globes and SAGS, Zero Dark Thirty earned itself the title of being the highest earning limited opening film ever. As reported by Nikki Finke:

“Early numbers indicated a giant $124,848 its first day from just 5 runs for a per screen average of $24,969. Sony tells me that’s bigger than American Beauty (6 runs for $73K), Little Miss Sunshine (7 runs for $66K), and even all the way back to 1991 and Marty Scorsese’s Cape Fear (10 runs for $115K on December 28th). ‘Pretty spectacular,’ a Sony exec gushed.”

That’s pretty impressive for a film that made a few moviegoers shift in their seats during the initial push out in previews. Will you be seeing Zero Dark Thirty over the holiday season?

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