And the winner of the weekend box office is...

It's not surprising that Lone Survivor won the weekend box office. What is surprising, however, is how handily it did so. Essentially, this film crushed all competition, including Frozen, which is showing incredible staying power since it's release. Having just started the Lone Survivor book, I can tell you that I am now very interested in seeing this movie. If it's half as compelling as the book, it's an amazing story of survival despite all odds.

Taking a look at specific numbers, Lone Survivor, which stars Mark Wahlberg as Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, one of four men involved in the tragic Operation Red Wings operation in Afghanistan, took in a stunning $38.5 million dollars at the box office over the weekend - the second biggest and best debut in January (second to 2008's Cloverfield). Not only that, reports say Lone Survivor got an A+ CinemaScore from audiences, which essentially means it's going to keep chugging along, in part because of strong word of mouth.

I'm less than halfway through the book, and I'm absolutely writing as fast as I can so I can return to it. There is a reason Lone Survivor is so popular. This is one of the most compelling stories I've ever read. The fact that it's a true account is simply incredible.

Let's not forget about Frozen: Disney's animated film took in another $15.1 million, bringing it's total gross to more than $317 million. And Frozen fans, guess what? You will eventually get to see this great movie on Broadway, too! It might take a few years, but it's coming.

As for the rest of the box office, The Legend of Hercules (which got horrid reviews) opened with just $8.9 million - good enough for third place, but still, terrible considering. Rounding out the top five are The Wolf of Wall Street ($8.8 million) and American Hustle ($8.3 million). I expect these movies will see a bit of a tick upward, after big Golden Globe wins for the actors. This is January, and it's not like we have a ton of awesome options for new films.

Did anyone see Lone Survivor over the weekend? If so, I'd really love to hear what you thought about it in the comments.

Photo courtesy of Joblo.com