May 26, 2012

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Outpaces the Competition

by Rebecca Pahle | Published January 2, 2012

New Year’s weekend proved to be quiet one at the box office, with Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (weekend gross $31.2 million, total gross $134.1 million) holding onto the number one spot for the second week running. Last week’s runner-up, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (weekend gross $22 million, total gross $132.1 million), stayed in the number two position, while Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (weekend gross $18.2 million, total gross $94.6 million) rose one spot to number three. Steven Spielberg’s War Horse earned $16.9 million over the holiday weekend, enough to bring it to spot four and bring its total gross so far to $42.9 million in just over a week of release. Rounding out the top five was David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (weekend gross $16.3 million, total gross $57.1 million).

The only new movies to hit theaters last weekend were limited releases, among them Pariah ($49,695), A Separation ($66,598) and, opening in New York and Los Angeles for its Oscar-qualifying run, The Iron Lady ($221,752).

Next weekend’s only wide release is the exorcism thriller The Devil Inside, with a slew of more indie fare, including Albatross, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Norwegian Wood, Roadie and Beneath the Darkness, hitting theaters in limited release.