Weekend Box Office

For the weekend of December 30-January 1.

1.  Mission Impossible 4 - $31.25 million ($134.14) - 3 wks (Par) +5.9%
 . . . 3455 screens / $9045 per screen
2.  Sherlock Holmes 2 - $22.1 ($132.1) - 3 wks (WB) +9.1%
 . . . 3703 / $5967
3.  Alvin & the Chipmunks 3 - $18.25 ($94.61) - 3 wks (Fox) +45%
 . . . 3724 / $4901
4.  War Horse - $16.94 ($42.97) - 2 wks (BV) +125.4%
 . . . 2547 / $6651
5.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - $16.3 ($57.1) - 2 wks (Sony) +27.8%
 . . . 2914 / $5594
6.  We Bought A Zoo - $14.3 ($41.79) - 2 wks (Fox) +52.8%
 . . . 3163 / $4521
7.  The Adventures of Tintin - $12 ($47.84) - 2 wks (Par) +23.6%
 . . . 3087 / $3887
8.  New Year's Eve - $6.74 ($46.37) - 4 wks (WB) +103.7%
 . . . 2225 / $3030
9.  The Darkest Hour - $4.3 ($13.2) - 2 wks (Sum) +43.3%
 . . . 2327 / $1848
10. The Descendants - $3.65 ($39.68) - 7 wks (FS) +76%
 . . . 758 / $4815
11. The Muppets - $2.59 ($82.46) - 6 wks (BV) +20.6%
 . . . 1541 / $1679
12. Hugo - $2.53 ($49.54) - 6 wks (Par) +18.8%
 . . . 951 / $2655
13. Young Adult - $2.2 ($12.17) - 4 wks (Par) +25.7%
 . . . 987 / $2229
14. Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 - $2 ($275.45) - 7 wks (Sum) +36.3%
 . . . 1411 / $1417

Doing really well in limited release are A Separation, The Iron Lady and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol has passed MI3 and is on course to pass the first MI movie to become the second-highest grosser in the series.  It probably won't pass MI2, but it's made the franchise still relevant and justifies an MI5, should Cruise want to do it.

After disappointing openings, Sherlock Holmes 2 and Alvin & the Chipmunks 3 have shown strong legs and will be profitable.

Steven Spielberg has cannibalized himself by having two of his movies (War Horse and Tintin) opening less than a week apart, though I've always said Tintin was made for overseas audiences first.