"Silver" Pure Gold at Box Office

"Argo" and "Life of Pi" had better nights at the Oscars, but "Silver Linings Playbook" is the hands-down winner right now among movie-goers.

The movie continued its unbelievable box office run this past weekend, posting another $6 million gain. The movie lost 170 theaters yet actually INCREASED its take (versus last week) by 3 percent. This is really unheard for a movie in its 16th week of release. Yes, "Pi" and "Argo" saw small post-Oscar bumps, but "SLP" is making this move irrespective of Academy Award momentum. It just keeps attracting viewers on historically good word-of-mouth. "SLP" has now grossed "$115 million, and will soon devour "Pi" ($116 million). It may eventually out-gross "Argo," at $132 million.

By the way,  the weekly B.O. numbers show that Melissa McCarthy is a certified star. Remember, the definition of "star" is a performer who can bring an audience to a mediocre movie. "Identity Thief" made another $9 million to move past the $100 million mark. Take that, Rex Reed.