Jessica Chastain in a low-budget horror flick overpowered Mark Wahlberg and Arnold Schwarzenegger to emerge as the weekend box office champ, while her Oscar-nominated "Zero Dark Thirty" captured the second spot as well.

Chastain's supernatural thriller, "Mama," pulled in $28.1 million from Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to studio estimates, beating out a crop of new testosterone-fueled, male-targeted releases that finished far back in the pack. 

"Zero Dark Thirty," for which Chastain is a leading best actress Oscar contender, took in $17.6 million, while another 2012 release and Oscar favorite, "Silver Linings Playbook," finished third with $11.35 million. 

"Broken City," a crime thriller starring Wahlberg and Russell Crowe, finished fifth with $9 million behind "Gangster Squad's" $9.1 million, while Schwarzenegger's new action film, "The Last Stand," earned $6.3 million for a dismal 10th place. 

"Mama" stars Chastain as a guitarist who doesn't want children but is forced to take care of two orphaned nieces who have been living in the woods. Based on a 2008 short film, the movie was produced for roughly $15 million. 

"Mama" was released by Comcast Corp's Universal Studios. "Broken City" was distributed by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp. 

Sony Corp's movie studio released "Zero Dark Thirty." "Gangster Squad" was distributed by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc. Lions Gate Entertainment distributed "The Last Stand." The Weinstein Co released "Silver Linings Playbook." 

Which movie did you see this weekend? Tell us on our Facebook page!

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As the Golden Globes event approaches zero hour -- that's Sunday night, for those keeping track -- TODAY's Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie wanted to get the inside scoop on what to expect on both the red carpet and the big stage on one of the industry's most-anticipated nights of the year. 

First off, Guthrie, reporting from Los Angeles, sat down with senior fashion editor at Marie Claire magazine Zanna Roberts Rassi to go over the eye-catching looks actresses and (sometimes) actors will trot out on the carpet. Rassi was enthusiastic about relative newcomer Jessica Chastain (a nominee for "Zero Dark Thirty"), calling her a "fashion plate." The pair also discussed Jennifer Lawrence's (nominated for "Silver Linings Playbook") tendency to change hair color, and noted that Lena Dunham (nominated as an actress in her show "Girls") is great for keeping it real and not worrying about her body type.

Anticipated trends for the carpet, said Rassi, include black and white combos, "extreme" ruffles and "strategically-placed" skin, despite the low temperatures expected for Sunday evening.

Vote for your Golden Globes favorites!

Later, back in New York, Lauer chatted with Access Hollywood correspondent Michelle Beadle, asking her to prognosticate on who will "walk away with the hardware" from the evening.

Beadle liked "Lincoln" as a best picture and "Les Miserables" for the best musical or comedy award (the Globes separates the genres, while the Oscars does not); she also leaned toward Anne Hathaway to pick up an award for her short role in "Les Mis." 

"When she sang 'I Dreamed a Dream,' I think that nailed it for her," said Beadle.

The best director list includes three names who were considered snubbed by the Oscars: Ben Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow and Quentin Tarantino, and she anticipated that Affleck would take the Globe Sunday. "Expect a funny speech out of him because I do think he feels dissed by the Academy for Oscar time," she said.

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Over in best actress for a musical or comedy, Beadle had a big raised fist for Jennifer Lawrence ("Silver Linings Playbook"). "She's young, she's smart, she's the new Hollywood without all the drama and stuff off the screen," she said.

Finally, the pair explored best television drama, and the vote was for "Breaking Bad" to take it home. "This is a tough category; all five of these are obviously strong shows," Beadle said.

Later, Beadle returned for a special Globes-themed "Take 3" segment, sitting down with TODAY's Willie Geist and Tamron Hall and E!'s Jason Kennedy (Guthrie weighed in from L.A.). They compared their own predictions in key categories -- Kennedy and Geist agreed that "Argo" deserved best picture; Hall and Beadle went for "Lincoln," which left Guthrie going it alone on "Zero Dark Thirty." Viewers choice? "Lincoln."

The biggest surprise? Hall, by her own admission, hadn't seen any of the movies being discussed. "My opinions are solely based on the -- I do read a lot -- all of the reviews," she insisted.

Geist promised to hook her up with screeners so she could watch the films at home.

They also noted that the pairing of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to host the show would be awesome. "We can boldly all predict and agree that they are going to be fabulous," said Guthrie. "There's no chance they're not going to absolutely kill it out there."

Be sure to check out the video to find out what else they had to say -- and tune in Sunday night starting at 7 p.m. ET for "TODAY at the Golden Globes" on NBC to see if their predictions come true!

Slideshow: 2013 Golden Globe nominations

Launch slideshow

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Sony / Columbia Pictures via AP

A scene from "Zero Dark Thirty," a film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and produced by Mark Boal.

Since its release, "Zero Dark Thirty" has sparked debate about the movie's frank depiction of torture and whether such acts committed by the U.S. in the War on Terror mislead audiences into thinking torture played a role in the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden.

Now director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter and producer Mark Boal are standing up for their rights as artists to explore such morally challenging territory.

Appearing at the New York Film Critics Circle ceremony to accept awards for Best Director and Best Picture Monday night, the duo defended the film for including the torture scenes and also addressed a Senate investigation looking into whether members of the CIA unlawfully gave classified information to the filmmakers to help them tell their story.

Zero Dark Thirty torture controversy: Senators slam grossly inaccurate depiction

"I thankfully want to say that I'm standing in a room of people who understand that depiction is not endorsement, and if it was, no artist could ever portray inhuman practices; no author could ever write about them; and no filmmaker could ever delve into the naughty subjects of our time," Bigelow told the audience of critics and media.

Boal, Bigelow's collaborator who first worked with her on "The Hurt Locker," told E! News earlier in the evening that he and the director really didn't expect "Zero Dark Thirty" to garner this level of controversy.

"No, I don't think we quite expected that," said Boal. "It was a little bit of a surprise, but I hope that people go to see the movie and judge for themselves."

Oscar-buzz cheat sheet: Will controversy hurt Zero Dark Thirty's chances?

"Zero Dark Thirty" opens with graphic scenes of enhanced interrogation techniques that were implemented by the Bush administration after 9-11, techniques like waterboarding and sexual humiliation that are illegal under international law. But many political commentators have pointed out that by including the dark side of the government's hunt for Al Qaeda, it may give viewers the wrong impression: that the brutal interrogation methods worked and are the reason we found Bin Laden.

When in fact nothing could be further from the truth--as Senator Diane Feinstein, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Senator John McCain, who was tortured during his service in Vietnam--publicly stated last month, fearing such scenes could perpetuate a myth.

The two joined Senator Carl Levin in sending the head of "Zero Dark Thirty"'s distributor, Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman Michael Lynton, a letter, saying "have a moral obligation to get the facts right" and noted that the Al Qaeda leader was found through the "hard work and dedication" of intelligence professionals, not in any way through "coercive interrogation techniques."

Early review roundup: what are the critics saying?

What the flick does extraordinarily well is tell the gripping account of a CIA operative (Jessica Chastain) doggedly pursuing Bin Laden's courier, who unknowingly leads the U.S. to the terrorist's hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, culminating in the raid that ended in Bin Laden's death.

Upon taking the podium later to receive best picture honors, Boal seemingly alluded to the Senate inquiry by bringing up the recent news of a CIA officer who's now facing prison time for talking to journalists about waterboarding. He also stood by his work on "Zero Dark Thirty."

"I stand here tonight being extremely proud of the film we made," he said. "I think at the end of the day, we made a film that allows us to look back at the past in a way that gives us a more clear-sighted appraisal of the future."

--Reporting by James Chairman

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REVIEW: The best hour of filmmaking you'll see all year is the final hour of Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty," which has to be considered a favorite to take home this year's best picture Oscar.

It's easy to find reasons not to go to the film, which is hardly a light night out at the movies or an ideal date flick. It's long -- pushing two hours, forty minutes. The film's controversial torture scenes have been widely discussed, and they are indeed difficult to watch -- detainees are waterboarded, strapped into dog collars, shoved into tiny boxes. And even before those scenes, the film reminds us what started it all by playing gut-wrenching phone calls from people trapped in the World Trade Center after it was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. "I'm going to die, aren't I?" one woman asks a helpless 911 operator.

Heavy stuff. Heavy, heartbreaking stuff. And not a movie for everyone. But "Zero Dark Thirty" is a majestic piece of filmmaking and like Bigelow's earlier Oscar-winner "The Hurt Locker," delves into a world that few Americans can even imagine. For most of us, the hunt for Osama bin Laden seemed for years like a fruitless quest, painful and frustrating when we thought about it, but not something that was constantly top of mind. But to the CIA agent played by Jessica Chastain (named Maya in the film), bin Laden was all she thought about, all the time.

Wrote critic Roger Ebert of the film, " There isn't a whole lot of plot -- basically, just that Maya thinks she is right, and she is." She is indeed, and the film manages to build on her slow gathering of evidence into a Jenga-like pile of information, with missteps along the way. Even though you know bin Laden was at the Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound, even though you know he was killed there by Navy SEALs in 2011, it's to the film's credit that events feel like they hang in doubt even once that dramatic final hour begins.

Chastain makes Maya feel like a real person, faults and all. She's not your typical suave James Bond-like spy. You're not sure you'd like her if you knew her, an opinion that's backed up by a great Washington Post piece about the real agent. (“Do you know how many CIA officers are jerks?” the paper quotes a source as saying. “If that was a disqualifier, the whole National Clandestine Service would be gone.”) She has a theory to which she is devoted, but always she carries with her the knowledge that she has seen friends die for similar devotion. 

Maya's challenges, though, only make the build towards the inevitable raid on the Abbottabad compound all the more dramatic. There's a trip to Area 51 (really!) to examine the special helicopters that'll be used, which allows Maya to meet the SEALs who'll be risking their lives because of her beliefs. ("I wanted to drop a bomb," she tells them sourly.)

Once the SEALs, and the Belgian Malinois dog they take along, climb into those two helicopters, it's impossible to take your eyes off the screen, or even breathe. Maya can only watch from the base, knowing their lives are in danger whether she's right or wrong, and that failure will be devastating. The attack itself may not be what you expected. The compound is cramped and dangerous, with threats around every corner and terrified women and children caught up in the raid. One of the helicopters crashes and must be destroyed, bin Laden's computer hard drives and journals must be shoved into bags, and the Pakistanis have scrambled their F-16s to investigate what the heck is going on. In the middle of the mayhem, a SEAL appears dazed, and when asked what's wrong, simply says, "I just shot the guy on the third floor." And all that's come before, the 9/11 phone calls, the torture, the deaths in the pursuit of other theories, all come down to the guy on the third floor.

In addition to Chastain, Bigelow gets marvelous performances from Jason Clark, whose fabulous performance in Showtime's "Brotherhood" is often overlooked; James Gandolfini, as likable and terrifying as Tony Soprano was; and Kyle Chandler, always so good whenever he's onscreen. At one point, Chandler's character tells Maya, "I don't (expletive) care about bin Laden! Protect the homeland!" Which is, of course, precisely what she thought she was doing.

"Zero Dark Thirty" opened in New York and Los Angeles in December to qualify for the Academy Awards, adds more cities on Jan. 4, and opens in still more locations on Jan. 11.

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Director-producer Kathryn Bigelow and writer-producer Mark Boal, the Oscar-winning duo behind "The Hurt Locker," have teamed up again to tell the tale of the hunt for Osama bin Laden in "Zero Dark Thirty," a film they insist has no agenda.

Bigelow and Boal, along with stars Jessica Chastain and Jason Clarke, visited TODAY's Studio 1A Thursday morning to explain their perspectives on the story.

"I'd have to say it's based on first-hand accounts, so what you see is a fairly accurate rendition of what happened," Bigelow explained. "But it is a 10-year hunt, compressed into two and a half hours, and it really shows that journey through the eyes and ears of the intelligence community on the ground, in the middle of that hunt."

And according to Boal, that hunt was captivating enough without the need for the typical Hollywood embellishments.

"This is a pretty naturally dramatic and exciting story," he said. "You don't really have to put too much topspin on the ball."

In fact, some feared the story might be too accurate. When Homeland Security chairman Peter King learned about the production, he wanted the CIA and Department of Defense to find out if any classified information was revealed during for the film. But was that fear founded?

"No," Boal insisted. "We did a lot of homework -- which I hope is evident on the screen when you see the movie, and I hope people go see the movie and judge for themselves -- but you know, it's an election year, and people say things in that process. Now that we have a movie that is actually going to be in theaters soon, I think people will see we didn't really come with any agenda at all."

That was a sentiment echoed by Bigelow when asked whether she believed the film's harsh interrogation scenes could be viewed as simply a means to an end in the real-life story or rather viewed as a political statement.

"I think the film doesn't have an agenda," she reiterated. "I think it just shows the story of the greatest manhunt in history, and that's part of that history. So we needed to basically show all the pieces of that puzzle."

Find out what Chastain and Clarke had to say about the effort in the clip above.

"Zero Dark Thirty" opens Dec. 19 in New York and Los Angeles. Watch the trailer:

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 REVIEW: After proving to be a problematic fit for the grim post-apocalyptic existentialism of "The Road," director John Hillcoat is back on more fertile turf with "Lawless,"  a muscular slice of grisly Americana rooted in flavorful Prohibition-era outlaw legend. While a touch overlong and not as distinctive as his last collaboration with screenwriter Nick Cave, the Australian Western "The Proposition,"  the new film is more commercially accessible, fueled by a brooding sense of dread, visceral bursts of violence, potent atmosphere and some juicy character portraits from a robust cast.

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The nominal lead figure in the dark ensemble drama is Jack Bondurant, probably the most standard role but one that yields more accomplished work than pretty much anything Shia LaBoeuf has done to date. However, it’s the characters around Jack that supply much of the texture, notably his brothers, the taciturn, philosophizing Forrest (Tom Hardy) and hooch-swilling punisher Howard (Jason Clarke). No less vital contributions come from Guy Pearce as a corrupt, dandified lawman, who has no qualms about spilling blood so long as it doesn’t splash his bespoke suits, and Gary Oldman in a brief but lip-smacking turn as Chicago mobster Floyd Banner.

 Adding welcome softer notes are gifted up-and-comer Dane DeHaan as Cricket, a crippled kid whose magic touch produces superior moonshine; Mia Wasikowska as Bertha, a strict preacher’s daughter with a rebellious streak; and Jessica Chastain as Maggie, an emotionally bruised burlesque dancer looking for a quiet life away from the mean city and stumbling instead on a whole other kettle of brutality in the backwoods.

Inspired by "The Wettest County in the World," Matt Bondurant’s 2008 fictionalized account of his bootlegging ancestors’ exploits in 1930s Franklin, Va., the story puts Cave right smack in his element. An artist who has always been drawn to the romance of bloodshed, crime and death, the goth troubadour might just as easily have plucked this tale from his brilliant 1996 album of distilled narratives, "Murder Ballads."

A prologue accompanied by copious voiceover from Jack dips into the self-styled legend of the Bondurant boys. They are believed to be indestructible, particularly Forrest, who survived the flu that killed their parents. As a lad, Jack is revealed to be the runt of the litter. His failure to comply with his tough siblings’ order to put a bullet in a hog unnecessarily telegraphs the task he is destined to fulfill in the final bloodbath. But Hillcoat and Cave seem happy to lift from the classics playbook.

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The main action begins in 1931. The now-grown Bondurant brothers run a thriving bootlegging operation in the mountains, one of many outfits supplying quality hooch to the county -- whites, blacks, civilians and lawmen alike. But up north in gangster-land, a crime wave is sweeping the nation, its tentacles inevitably reaching Virginia.

Wanting a slice of the moonshine profits, the crooked commonwealth attorney dispatches Special Deputy Charlie Rakes (Pearce), a vicious, perfumed snake who makes no effort to hide his disdain for these hicks. But Forrest makes it clear the Bondurants won’t lie down for anybody, delivering his message with a persuasive combination of knuckleduster and contempt. That sets up him and Rakes as instant nemeses. Forrest also resists overtures from other local bootleggers to comply with the new “law,” insisting on staying solo. That stance combined with Cricket’s high-grade brew helps the brothers prosper.

Running parallel to the encroaching friction with Rakes is the more prosaic strand of Jack’s efforts to earn his big brothers’ respect and become a legitimate player in their operation. His opportunity comes while Forrest is laid up with a fresh Frankenstein scar across his throat from where Rakes’ goons sliced him open. Jack gets a lucky break in a near-fatal encounter with Floyd Banner’s men, among them a nasty stooge played by Noah Taylor. Jack’s cut of the deal allows him to purchase a snazzy auto and sharp threads to help him court the pious and pretty Bertha. Meanwhile, lovely Maggie works the bar at the boys’ Blackwater Station, as she and Forrest shoot each other smoldering glances.

Aided by fluid work from editor Dylan Tichenor, Hillcoat punches the action along at an unhurried yet steady pace, expertly sustaining tension and a mood of impending menace. The inevitable showdown, after Jack’s carelessness leads Rakes to their secret distillery location, is a little too protracted, and the coda 10 years on lingers unduly. But the film maintains its suspense and compelling character engagement throughout.

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Without exactly glorifying their outlaw heroes, Hillcoat and Cave definitely keep us in their corner, showing even their most violent actions to be driven by self-protection or payback, never merely by malice. The most memorable of them is somber Forrest, whose dialogue is delivered from somewhere way back in Hardy’s throat, often as barely more than an inarticulate rumble. But from in amongst those animal growls spout occasional pearls of outlaw wisdom, such as “It is not the violence that sets a man apart, it’s the distance he is prepared to go.”

Benoit Delhomme’s widescreen visuals have a handsome epic sweep. The earthy sepia tones and shadowy interiors are shuffled with crisp skies and green forestland covered with vines and tangled willows. The evocative feel for time and place is furthered by Chris Kennedy’s rustic period production design and Margot Wilson’s sharp costumes.

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As in "The Proposition," Cave’s contribution extends to an indispensable score, co-written with Warren Ellis. (The team also provided music for Andrew Dominik’s "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," a film that some will no doubt say the less nuanced "Lawless" aspires to be.) Their score here mixes rootsy bluegrass, gospel, country and contemporary songs reinterpreted by Emmylou Harris and Ralph Stanley, among others.

If "Lawless" doesn’t achieve the mythic dimensions of the truly great outlaw and gangster movies, it is a highly entertaining tale set in a vivid milieu, told with style and populated by a terrific ensemble. For those of us who are suckers for blood-soaked American crime sagas from that era, those merits will be plenty.

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Time for me to dig out my list of “Reasons Why the World Deserves to End in 2012” and amend the entry, “Because there are new installments of both ‘Ice Age’ and ‘Madagascar.’” The third time, despite what you’ve heard, is rarely the charm, but “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” marks the spot where a shrill and unfunny kid franchise made the leap into hilarious and engaging family entertainment.

Part of that transition may have to do with the addition of co-writer Noah Baumbach, best known for indies like “Greenberg” (starring Ben Stiller, who voices lion Alex here) and “Margot at the Wedding,” but who made his bones in the animation world by collaborating with Wes Anderson on their charming adaptation of “Fantastic Mr. Fox.”

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Whatever the reason, “Madagascar 3” finds the franchise finally finding its comedic groove, mixing character-based comedy, outrageous adventures and the occasional bit of parent-friendly wordplay.

We last left our heroes — Alex, zebra Marty (Chris Rock), hippo Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) and giraffe Melman (David Schwimmer) — living the high life on the African veldt. Like all transplanted New Yorkers, however, they all kvetch about missing the Big Apple and decide to make their way back to the Central Park Zoo they successfully escaped two movies ago. This involves snorkeling to Monaco (don’t ask) to reunite with the penguins and chimps who can fly an airplane (no, really, don’t ask).

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Their stint in Monte Carlo draws the attention of ruthless animal control cop Captain Chantel DuBois (Frances McDormand, summoning all the Gallic hauteur she can muster), who would like nothing more than to add Alex’s head to the menagerie of stuffed trophies on her wall. Pursued by DuBois, the animals join up with a down-on-its-luck circus, pretending to be performers themselves so that they can hop the train and get out of the country.

The circus’ fortunes declined when knife-throwing tiger Vitaly (Bryan Cranston) lost his mojo, but leopard Gia (Jessica Chastain) thinks these Americans can put their three-ring show back on top. Not that the plot — how will the circus animals react when they find out their new compadres are mere zoo attractions? — matters much; directors Eric Darnell (who co-wrote) and Tom McGrath use the circus setting as a springboard for eye-popping 3D visuals (there’s a trapeze sequence that’s as trippy as anything since the “Pink Elephants on Parade” number in “Dumbo”) and some genuinely funny character interactions.

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The returning players all seem to be more on their game: Stiller’s less of a whiner, Rock tones it down a notch or two (but still rattles off a circus theme song that’s still stuck in my head) and it turns out that Schwimmer’s voice sounds more natural coming out of the mouth of a neurotic giraffe than it does coming out of Schwimmer himself. Of the new additions, Cranston, Chastain and Martin Short (as a dopey but friendly performing seal) all score, but McDormand steals her every scene.

It helps that the hyper-capable DuBois nonetheless becomes the object of lots of wonderfully slapstick Inspector Clouseau–esque abuse.

If the previous “Madagascar” entries left you cold, take the plunge with this threequel. You will believe a hippopotamus can tight-rope dance.

Are you planning to see "Madagascar 3"? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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