娱乐英语新闻:"Mama" thwarts Schwarzenegger starrer to claim No. 1 in North America

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Actress Jessica Chastain was the most popular star over the weekend, as her films finished as the two most profitable flicks, beating out Arnold Schwarzenegger's vehicle "The Last Stand" along the way to the top.

"Mama," a PG-13 horror movie starring Chatain and was produced by Guillermo del Toro, opened in 2,647 locations in the United States and Canada to gross 28.1 million U.S. dollars over the weekend, and 33.2 million dollars over the four-day Martin Luther King holiday which ends on Monday. The film, released by Universal, is largely helped by that fact that Chastain gathered steam as she won nominations for best Oscar actress and took home the best actress in the Golden Globe Awards for her work in "Zero Dark Thirty," which finished in second place over the weekend.

The supernatural film appealed to droves of teenager girls and young women as they made up 61 percent of the audience. Moviegoers assigned a "B-" CinemaScore to it.

"Zero Dark Thirty," a Sony production which follows U.S.' pursuit of al Qaeda's mastermind Osama bin Laden, took in a three- day gross of 17.6 million dollars and four-day holiday total of 21. 4 million dollars.

David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook" finished in No. 3. The romantic drama grossed 11.4 million dollars over the weekend, and 13.5 million dollars in four days. It expanded nationwide over the weekend, gaining from its buzz as a stronger Oscar contender. The dark comedy has taken in more than 55 million dollars during 10 weeks in exhibition.

"The Last Stand," a Lionsgate actioner marking Schwarzenegger's first leading role in a decade, came in No. 10 to gross 6.3 million dollars over the weekend. Filmgoers assigned a "B" CinemaScore to it. As a adult-skewing movie, almost 80 percent of its audience was older than 25 years old. The actioner is expected to roll up 7.4 million dollars for the four-day traditional holiday.

Schwarzenegger, a former Hollywood action film actor before he became a politician and whose last role was "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," has make a comeback to Hollywood since he walked out of the governor's office in Sacramento, California in January 2011. "The Last Stand" was one of a series of projects he plans to make.

Rounding out the 10 most popular films in North America over the Friday-Sunday weekend were "Gangster Squad" (USD9.1 million), "Broken City" (9 million), "A Haunted House" (8.3 million), " Django Unchained" (8.2 million), "Les Miserables" (7.8 million), and "The Hobbitt: An Unexpected Journey" (6.4 million).