Film News: ‘Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol’ Wins Christmas Weekend Box Office

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CHICAGO – In a weekend full of new releases and tons of options, the hot movie to see was “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.” Six different movies were estimated at over $7.5 million, but “Ghost Protocol” was easily the tops with an estimated $26.5 million.

The fourth film in the action/thriller franchise, “Ghost Protocol” once again stars Tom Cruise in the lead role of Ethan Hunt. The film had been released to 425 theaters last week, which made for a $12.9 million weekend. Now wide released to 3,448 theaters, the film upped its box office total by 108%.

The top three films were once again the top three this week, as “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” finished in second and “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked” finished third. The films totaled $17.8 million and $13.3 million, respectively.

As far as the new releases, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” came through the best with $13 million this holiday weekend, good enough for fourth place at the box. “The Adventures of Tintin” followed in fifth with $9.1 million and “We Bought a Zoo” made $7.8 million in the sixth spot. With the subject matter of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and the R rating, the $13 million was a solid showing for the new David Fincher adaptation.

Will Ethan Hunt and the rest of the IMF agents finish at the top again next week? It seems that its only competition will come from the current releases, as next weekend’s new releases are “The Iron Lady” and “A Separation,” which are both being released to fewer theaters and are award season films, not blockbusters. Of course, “War Horse” was just released on Christmas, which was the reason it did not appear near the top of this weekend’s box office. The film could have a decent showing in its first full weekend next week.

1. Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol – $26.5 million – up 108% — $59 million total
2. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows– $17.8 million – down 55% — $76.6 million total
3. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked– $13.3 million – down 43% — $50.3 million total
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo– $13 million – new
5. The Adventures of Tintin– $9.1 million – new
6. We Bought a Zoo– $7.8 million – new
7. New Year’s Eve– $3 million – down 59% — $32.3 million total
8. Arthur Christmas — $2.7 million – down 24% — $44.2 million total
9. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 – $2.1 million – down 50% — $270.9 million total
10. Hugo — $2 million – down 45% — $43.7 million total

By TIM MARTENS Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com tim@hollywoodchicago.com