Holiday Weekend Box Office: Mission: Accomplished Ghost Protocol, Dragon Tattoo, Tintin Disappoint

By Chris Kavan - 12/27/11 at 10:42 AM CT

After opening with a bang in mostly IMAX theaters last week, Tom Cruise and co. officially made a hit out of Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol. It turns out that maybe audiences weren't in the mood for graphic rape and torture as, despite heavy marketing, David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo couldn't best Sherlock Holmes or The Chipmunks.

Ghost Protocol stood out above the crowded weekend market with a $46.2 million total over the four-day weekend. It now stands at $78.65 million. Even though those numbers are trailing the previous Mission: Impossible films, all of the other ones opened in May, and the numbers tend to be front-loaded. It should be able to top M:I III's $134 million total and even approach the $181 million total of the original film when its run is over.

Although it had the best debut amongst new releases, Fincher's remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo could still only must a fourth-place finish with $19.4 million over the weekend and a $27.8 million showing since its Tuesday early opening. While those numbers are not disastrous, it has to be considered a letdown when you factor in the marketing and the success of the books and the original film. I thought it was excellent, but I have a feeling the rather dark subject matter may have been a wrong fit for the holiday crowd. I'm hoping this gets good word of mouth and has better weeks ahead.

While the international market may have boosted its total, American audiences weren't feeling the love for The Adventures of Tintin. It wound up in fifth with $16.1 million and a $24.1 million total since opening on Wednesday. Given that Tintin isn't as well-known here, I have a feeling the studio isn't surprised. They can't be too upset, as it has made $239 million globally - which is where it's sure to find a bigger audience.

The rest of the top five was rounded out by Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows in second place with $31.8 million - holding quite strong by dropping just under 20%. The $90.5 million still doesn't match the original's total through the same time, and it can't hope to reach $200 million, it's still a good sign for the franchise after a weak opening and a third film is probably in the works as we speak.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked managed to do even better, dropping just 14% and taking in $20 million for a $57 million total. Dropping to third, and despite the harsh reviews, the film was hand-down the winner in the family market over the weekend and it should be able to top its $75 million budget in the coming weeks.

We Bought a Zoo opened on Friday, but wasn't able to entice many viewers. Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church and Elle Fanning drew in $15.6 million over the weekend. In just one day Steve Spielberg's War Horse managed to bring in just over $15 million - a good sign that War Horse should do better in coming weeks while Zoo will fade.

The only other film to open on Christmas was The Darkest Hour, which didn't screen for critics, always a sign of a stellar film, opened with a likewise $5.5 million 8th-place finish. Considering it's an alien invasion film, that total is probably better than is should have been but it's not going to turn any heads.

Next week is another holiday weekend (New Year's) and there are no new films opening in wide release, so we'll see how the current lineup fares a week later. I'm guessing Ghost Protocol will once again win the weekend, but I'm interested to see if Dragon Tattoo can improve over its opening.

Comments

Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
  
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
  
Are you sure you want to delete this blog?