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Chastain's supernatural thriller, "Mama," pulled in $28.1 million from Friday through Sunday at US 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 late 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. She and her husband try to re-adjust the little girls to normal life.
Based on a 2008 short film, the movie was produced for roughly $15 million.
"This is a great result, one we never would have expected especially for a film of this genre," said Nikki Rocco, Universal's president for domestic distribution.
"The timing was perfect," she said, noting "the key was it's a PG-13 movie that appealed to the under-25 female audience."
The studio said it was hopeful that as the only PG-13 film in release this month it would continue to find an audience.
Chastain is a best actress Oscar nominee for her role as a dogged CIA agent in "Zero Dark Thirty", the weekend's second-place film about the decade-long manhunt for Osama bin Laden. The movie has taken in $55.9 million since late December.