The year is mercifully coming to an end for Hollywood after 12 months of disappointing ticket sales across the board. Ending the year on a high note is “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.” Brad Bird’s first foray into live action was the top film in the nation again Friday with another $10.7 million and $113.5 million so far. The Tom Cruise comeback should easily pass “Mission: Impossible III’s” $134 million gross sometime next weekend and its worldwide take of $397.8 million later this month. “Ghost Protocol’s” performance against some tough competition proves the franchise still has a lot left in the tank and that’s one holiday gift Paramount was very happy to receive.
Faring better than originally expected in second place is “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.” Warner Bros. may have made a strategic error opening the picture on the last holiday shopping weekend before Christmas, but the Guy Ritchie flick has kept kicking with strong word of mouth. “Shadows” grossed another $7.6 million on Friday for $117.6 million so far. It won’t hit the domestic heights of the first film, but will easily surpass $150 million when all is said and done.
Also improving after its Dec. 16 debut is 20th Century Fox’s “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.” The family flick rebounded after the holiday with strong midweek grosses. Friday found another $7.1 million and $83.4 million so far. It should easily pass the $100 million mark in the New Year.
Sony Pictures’ “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” found the fourth slot with another $5.3 million and $46.1 million in just 10 days. The 2 hour and 40 minute “Tattoo” will likely tap out around $80 million. Solid, but not spectacular. Sony is going to have to hope international audiences fuel “Tattoo’s” cume if it wants to recover the film’s reported $140 million price tag.
Cameron Crowe’s “We Bought A Zoo” has also shown some resiliency during the holiday week. After Friday’s $4.9 million, the Matt Damon thriller has grossed $32.3 million in just 8 days. If Fox is lucky, “Zoo” could eventually end up in the $60 million range domestically.
Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse” has been solid since its strong Christmas day gross, but has tapered off a bit. The period tearjerker found another $4.6 million on Friday for $30.7 million in just 6 days.
In limited release, “The Iron Lady” debuted in just four theaters with $76,300 or an impressive $19,075 per screen.
Look for complete weekend estimates tomorrow on HitFix.