Have chainsaw, will travel … and win the box office weekend.

 

The rebooted Texas Chainsaw 3D – pardon this obviousness – buzz-sawed through the box-office competition to win the Top 10, earning an estimated $23 million and grabbing the top slot on the weekend chart. 

 

Perhaps being one of the only new movies to open in theaters helped the horror reboot rally the troops and take the weekend. It has been years since Jessica Biel helped bring fans back to the rural farmhouse of Leatherface and his family. Relative newcomer Alexandra Daddario steps into the lead role, avoiding the chainsaw and allowing herself to be splattered with blood. Audiences gushed in support.  

 

Speaking of gushing blood, Quentin Tarantino’s bloody Western Django Unchained continued to perform well at the box office after opening to a modest number on Christmas Day. By adding $20 million to its coffers over the weekend, Tarantino’s movie passed the $100M mark ($106.3M domestically to date). It’s now the second-highest-grossing film of Tarantino’s career, and should have no problem passing the $120M earned by Inglourious Basterds back in 2009. 

 

Elsewhere, Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit continued its stellar run at the box, adding an additional $17.5M to its overall $263.8M totals. Hobbit has soared past King Kong and its $218M total, but has yet to reach the $300M+ territories of LOTR. At least, not yet.

 

Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables has reached $103M, and probably expects to receive a healthy box-office boost when Oscar nominations are announced next week. And finally, Skyfall is dangerously close to crossing the $300M mark. It stands at an estimated $296M after the weekend. 

 

Here’s the full Top 10 list for the weekend:

 

MOVIE / WEEKEND / TOTAL

 

1. Texas Chansaw 3D, $23M

 

2. Django Unchained, $20M, $106.3M

 

3. The Hobbit, $17.5M, $263.8M

 

4. Les Miserables, $16.1M, $103.6M

 

5. Parental Guidance, $10.1M, $52.7M

 

6. Jack Reacher, $9.3M, $64.8M

 

7. This is 40, $8.5M, $54.4M

 

8. Lincoln, $5.2M, $143.9M

 

9. The Guilt Trip, $4.5M, $31.2M 

 

10. Promised Land, $4.3M, $4.6M

 

Follow along on Twitter @Sean_OConnell and @Fandango.