MUMBAI: By grossing $26.5 million over the three-day Christmas weekend for a cume of $59 million, Paramount Studios’ Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol stood out in the crowded holiday race.
According to Paramount, Ghost Protocol will earn another $13.7 million on Monday (a national holiday) for a domestic total of $72.7 million, not far behind the $76.4 million earned by Knight and Day in its entire earned $76.4 domestic run, or the $83.1 million grossed by Valkyrie in 2008.
Ghost Protocol has already jumped the $100 million at the international box office, although figures for Christmas weekend won‘t be announced until Monday (many theaters in Europe and Latin America closed for Christmas eve and Christmas day).
The production house now predicts that the film will cross the $200 million mark internationally by the year-end.
Holding at No. 2 over the weekend was Warner Bros.‘ Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, grossing $17.8 million for a 10-day domestic cume of $76.6 million. The film grossed $22.3 million from 25 markets at the foreign box office over the weekend, bringing its international total to $46.1 million and worldwide cume to $122.7 million.
Fox‘s Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked continued to pick up steam as well, grossing $13.3 million over the weekend for a 10-day domestic total of $50.3 million. The film had opened well below expectations last weekend.
Sony‘s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo came in No. 4, grossing $13 million over Christmas weekend for a five-day domestic cume of $21.4 million. Directed by David Fincher, the English-language adaptation of the blockbuster Swedish novel stars Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara and Christopher Plummer.
Dragon Tattoo opened in five Scandavian countries over the weekend, collecting $1.6 million.
Steven Spielberg‘s 3D family film The Adventures of Tintin grossed $9 million over Christmas weekend for a five-day domestic cume of $17.1 million.
The other big headline of Christmas weekend was the tepid debut of On the other hand, Cameron Crowe‘s We Bought a Zoo opened to a tepid debut. Starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, the film‘s cume through Sunday a mere $7.8 million that put it at No. 6.
With 2012 fast approaching, Hollywood is now resigned to the fact that it probably won‘t be able to close the gap in domestic box office revenues, even as international grosses surge.
