Here’s something you don’t hear very often: “It was a good week for strong women at the box office.” Up against two new, male-driven action movies, actress Jessica Chastain claimed first and second place with Mama and Zero Dark Thirty. Chastain’s fellow Golden Globe winner, Jennifer Lawrence, took third with Silver Linings Playbook – ahead of Gangster Squad and the big name boys that launched debuts on Friday. Both Broken City (with Mark Wahlberg) and The Last Stand (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) were disappointments – though, fittingly, Arnold’s was on a much more epic scale.

It’s nice to see a down and dirty action movie, and Contraband offers a number of things that are fun. It’s got Mark Wahlberg in the lead, and a supporting cast that includes Kate Beckinsale, J.K. Simmons, Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi, and Lukas Hass.  It’s got a no-nonsense plot about smuggling, and at least one good shootout. But it’s also imminently forgettable. Our review of the Blu-ray of Contraband follows after the jump.

Underworld Awakening had no trouble topping a crowded field of new or expanding releases this weekend. Nine years after the action-horror series launched, Underworld 4 took in an estimated $25.4 million from 3,078 locations for the second-highest opening weekend in the franchise’s history. Red Tails also had reason to be happy with its second-place showing while returns for the week’s three other highly-touted features were more modest.

Miss Bala, Mexico’s official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film, chronicles three terrifying days in the life of Laura Guerrero (Stephanie Sigman), a beautiful young woman whose humble effort to escape a life of grim poverty goes diabolically wrong when it delivers her into the hands of a gang that’s terrorizing northern Mexico led by drug boss Lino (Noé Hernández). Although she wins the beauty queen crown she aspires to, her experiences as an unwilling participant in Mexico’s violent war leave her shaken and transformed.

In an exclusive interview at the press day for Miss Bala, we sat down with the film’s executive producer, Diego Luna, to talk about the acclaimed crime drama which opens in New York and Los Angeles on January 20th. Luna told us about his longtime collaboration with director Gerardo Naranjo, how the character of Laura is really a metaphor for what’s happening today in Mexico, and why he believes film has the ability to bring about social change by raising awareness. He also discussed his upcoming projects, Contraband which opens this weekend, Casa de mi Padre with Will Ferrell and Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium. Hit the jump for the full interview.

Even with Saturday’s family trade and higher ticket prices, Disney’s 3D re-issue of Beauty and the Beast could not catch Contraband this weekend. From its 2,863 locations Universal’s R-rated drama took in an estimated $24.1 million – a figure well above early expectations for the Mark Wahlberg vehicle.  The other BIG news is the changing fortunes of last weekend’s number one film, The Devil Inside.  Estimates have taken the film from number six – down to number eleven – and back up to number seven all within an hour.  We’re hoping to get it right this with this one but, keep in mind, it’s all estimates until Monday morning…

Set in New Orleans, Contraband is Mark Whalberg’s new thriller about smuggling on container ships. He plays a blue-collar family man who’s sworn off his former life of crime, until his brother-in-law botches a drug deal and needs his help in order to repay the debt. Whalberg agrees to do one last job, running contraband from Panama on a container ship. Kate Beckinsale plays Whalberg’s wife, Ben Foster his best friend and business partner, and Giovanni Ribisi plays a New Orleans drug runner who is barely recognizable and eerily convincing.

I recently sat down with Foster in New York and we talked about the role he was initially courted for, the time he got kicked out of acting class, as well as his new production company. Hit the jump for the full interview.

I have to say that I can’t wait to check out Steven Soderbergh‘s actioner Haywire. Everything I’ve seen from it thus far has looked great and the positivity pouring out from early reviews only supports my belief that the entire pic will deliver. Whether it be the stellar cast, the proclaimed breakout performance from Gina Carano, or Soderbergh’s top-notch action sequences, I fully expect to be talking about Haywire right here again next week in a little “Before & After” discussion. In the meantime…

…This week’s “Top 5″ brings you some new details regarding the long-gestating Star Wars live-action television series, Contraband interviews with Mark Wahlberg, Giovanni Ribisi, and more, the first official images from Jonathan Levine‘s (50/50) Warm Bodies, a “Cinemath” feature that analyzes the 2011 box office, and all of our coverage from the 2011 Television Critics Association (TCA) Winter Press Tour. Hit the jump for brief recaps and links to each.

If 2011 closed as a bit of a downer, 2012 continues to surprise with its robust (early) box office performances.  Last week Paramount’s The Devil Inside caught most of us off-guard with its big number one finish; this weekend it was Universal’s turn with Contraband.  The R-rated thriller earned an estimated $8.7 million from 2,863 locations on Friday – a first place debut that puts it on track for a weekend 25% higher than expected.  In second place, Disney’s 3D reissue of Beauty and the Beast took in $5.6 million from 2,625 venues and should reach $23 million by the end of the four-day MLK Holiday weekend.  Warner Brothers’ Joyful Noise was the final new title of the weekend, not counting TWC’s The Iron Lady which expanded into 802 theatres and finished Friday in eighth-place.  Noise earned $3.3 million from its 2,863 locations for a third-place tie with Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.  Rounding out the top five, The Devil Inside was down a giant 87% from its debut.  With the film’s awful reviews, expect it to relinquish its current slot to Sherlock Holmes 2 by Sunday. Details and analysis tomorrow.

We attended the press day today for Miss Bala, Mexico’s official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film, which tells the story of Laura (Stephanie Sigman), a young woman whose aspirations of becoming a beauty queen turn against her, delivering her into the hands of a gang that’s terrorizing northern Mexico. Although Laura succeeds in winning the beauty queen crown, her experiences as an unwilling participant in Mexico’s violent war leave her shaken and transformed. In an exclusive interview, we sat down with the film’s executive producer, Diego Luna, to talk about the film which opens January 20th. We’ll post the full interview shortly, but in the meantime, we wanted to share what Luna had to say about his upcoming projects including Contraband, Will Ferrell‘s Casa de mi Padre, and Neill Blomkamp‘s Elysium. Hit the jump to read more:

Opening tomorrow is director Baltasar Kormákur’s crime thriller Contraband. Set in the world of international smuggling, the film stars Mark Wahlberg as a man trying to escape his days as a criminal. When his brother-in-law (Caleb Landry Jones) botches a deal, Wahlberg’s character must settle his brother-in-law’s debt in order to keep him safe from a drug boss (Giovanni Ribisi).  The film also stars Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, J.K. Simmons, and Diego Luna.

Last week I was able to get on the phone with Wahlberg for an exclusive interview.  During our wide ranging conversation, we talked about the New England Patriots playoff chances (we’re both from New England), how he got involved in Contraband, the action scenes, how he prepares for his roles, and what it was like to film on a real ship.  In addition, with Wahlberg involved in so many other projects, he talked about The Fighter sequel, the Entourage movie, working with Adam McKay and Will Ferrell again in Three Mississippi, The Departed sequel, Michael Bay‘s Pain and Gain, Seth MacFarlane‘s Ted, the untitled Basketball movie with Justin Bieber, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to read or listen to the interview.

There are so many ways to steal something, but when it comes to the big score, movies have kept their focus on elaborate heists.  How are the criminals going to break into the vault?  How will they escape?  Couldn’t they put all of this effort into a job that doesn’t risk going to jail?  These questions aside, the basic point remains: steal what you want and don’t get caught.  But there are so many other ways to accomplish that.  Baltasar Kormákur‘s Contraband is a fresh take on the theft genre (unless you’ve seen the original version, the 2008 Icelandic film Reykjavik-Rotterdam) by turning the attention to smuggling.  However, the movie always feels torn between what’s safe and familiar and what’s daring and inventive.

Set in New Orleans, Contraband is Mark Whalberg’s new thriller about smuggling on container ships. He plays a blue-collar family man who’s sworn off his former life of crime, until his brother-in-law botches a drug deal and needs his help in order to repay the debt. Whalberg agrees to do one last job, running contraband from Panama on a container ship. Kate Beckinsale plays Whalberg’s wife, Ben Foster his best friend and business partner, and Giovanni Ribisi plays a New Orleans drug runner who is barely recognizable and eerily convincing.

During our one-on-one interview, we talk about how he created the accent, the prison documentaries he watched to get into the role, as well a bit about the upcoming Seth McFarlane movie Ted. Hit the jump for the full interview.

Set in New Orleans, Contraband is Mark Whalberg’s new thriller about smuggling on container ships. He plays a blue-collar family man who’s sworn off his former life of crime, until his brother-in-law botches a drug deal and needs his help in order to repay the debt. Whalberg agrees to do one last job, running contraband from Panama on a container ship. Kate Beckinsale plays Whalberg’s wife, Ben Foster his best friend and business partner, and Giovanni Ribisi plays a New Orleans drug runner.

A remake of the Icelandic film Reykjavík-Rotterdam (2008), Contraband is directed by Baltasar Kormákur, who played the lead character in the original. At the press conference in New York, Kormákur spoke to a room of journalists about how the project came together, the choice of cinematographer Barry Ackroyd (The Hurt Locker), and his thoughts on the film’s moral ambiguity. Hit the jump for the interview.

We’ve been provided with five clips and sixteen images from director Baltasar Kormákur’s crime thriller Contraband. The film is set in the world of international smuggling and stars Mark Wahlberg as a man trying to escape his days as a criminal. When his brother-in-law (Caleb Landry Jones) botches a deal, Wahlberg’s character must settle his brother-in-law’s debt in order to keep him safe from a drug boss (Giovanni Ribisi).  The film also stars Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, J.K. Simmons, and Diego Luna.

Hit the jump to check out the clips and images.  Contraband opens January 13th, 2012.

We’ve been provided with five clips from the crime thriller Contraband. The film is set in the world of international smuggling and stars Mark Wahlberg as a man trying to escape his days as a criminal. When his brother-in-law (Caleb Landry Jones) botches a deal, Wahlberg’s character must settle his brother-in-law’s debt in order to keep him safe from a drug boss (Giovanni Ribisi).

Hit the jump to check out the clips.  The film also stars Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, J.K. Simmons, and Diego Luna.  Contraband opens January 13th, 2012.