ZERO DARK THIRTY Poised to Take Weekend Box Office with $25M

According to Deadline, 'Best Picture' contender Zero Dark Thirty is set to not only take the weekend box office - but become director Kathryn Bigelow's biggest hit.

The film, on Friday alone, took in over $9 million; it's expected to gross around $25 million for the weekend as a whole.

"The public has spoken," a Sony exec told Deadline last night, commenting on Bigelow's Oscar snub.

Following the scrutiny the film has received over its depiction of torture in following the decade-long manhunt for Osama bin Laden, Sony Co-Chairman Amy Pascal spoke out on Friday, saying:

"Zero Dark Thirty does not advocate torture. To not include that part of history would have been irresponsible and inaccurate...As Kathryn Bigelow so appropriately said earlier this week, 'depiction is not endorsement, and if it was, no artist could ever portray inhumane practices; no author could ever write about them; and no filmmaker could ever delve into the knotty subjects of our time.' We believe members of the Academy will judge the film on its true merits and will tune out the wrongful and misdirected rhetoric."

While THIRTY is proving nay-sayers completely wrong, Warner Bros.' so-so GANGSTER SQUAD, featuring an all-star cast, is underperforming. The film took in $6 million on Friday, expected to make around $18 million for the weekend - undershooting the $20 million expectation the studio had.

BWW Movies World will have the full weekend box office results tomorrow - check back soon!

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