"Silver Linings Playbook", an Oscar-nominated romantic comedy about a former mental patient trying to rebuild his life, expanded nationwide for a strong third-place finish and a $55.3 million total since the movie starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence opened in late autumn.

Both Oscar contenders handily beat out a pair of new, male-oriented films, as did crime thriller "Gangster Squad".

"The Last Stand" features Schwarzenegger's return to a starring, big-screen role after a seven-year break while he was serving as governor of California, but managed only $6.3 million to finish 10th. The former "Terminator" will star in three movies over the next 12 months.

Schwarzenegger plays a retired Los Angeles policeman who works to protect a tiny border town from a notorious drug kingpin. The film was produced for about $45 million.

The studio noted that the weekend was crowded with several movie-going choices, and that two films were competing for the same audience, referring to the weekend's other new movie, "Broken City", which stars Wahlberg as a former New York cop who uncovers a scandal involving the mayor, played by Russell Crowe.

The top 10 movies were rounded out by "A Haunted House", "Django Unchained", "Les Miserables" and "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey".

"Zero Dark Thirty" was released by Sony Corp's movie studio.

"The Last Stand" was distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment.

"The Hobbit" and "Gangster Squad" were released by Warner Bros, a unit of Time Warner Inc.

"A Haunted House" was released by Open Road Films, a joint venture between theater owners Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment Inc.

"Django Unchained" and "Silver Linings Playbook" were distributed by Weinstein Co.

"Broken City" was distributed by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp.

"Les Miserables" and "Mama" were distributed by Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp.