Christmas Weekend Box Office: 'Mission' Successful, Movies Surge

Studio executives got the best Christmas present they could ask for this year: a weekend at the box office that is actually an improvement over last year's numbers. It's an improvement of about 8% in revenues, and considering the way things have been looking for the last few months, it's nothing short of a Christmas miracle.

"Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" not only took the title for most punctuation in a movie title this four-day weekend, it also took the top spot at the box office, bringing in a cool $46.2 million.

This is technically the movie's second weekend in theaters, though last weekend was a limited release in IMAX theaters only. Thus, the cume over the two weeks is still a bit low at around $78 million, but the movie could see as much as $200 million before it's done in theaters.

"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" continued its successful run with another $31.8 million. The movie has received reviews about on par with the first movie, but revenues have been lower for this sequel than for the original. Still, the movie has passed the $90 million mark over the last two weeks, and looks to keep some momentum going forward.

"Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" brought in another $20 million after opening fairly short of "The Squeakquel"s' numbers, putting the family film at $56.9 million over its two weeks. That's a good hold, but the film might drop sharply after the holidays.

The weekend's brand-new releases saw mixed results, as "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" came in fourth with $19.4 million and a cume of $27.7 million since it released on the 20th. "The Adventures of Tintin" was right behind it with $16.1 million and a cume of $24.1 million since its release on the 21st. Both movies saw slightly less than expected, but should have some legs going forward. "Tintin" is having huge success overseas, where the character is much more popular.

"We Bought a Zoo" came in sixth with $15.6 million, after opening on Friday the 23rd. The movie is very family-friendly and should have a good ensuing week.

"War Horse" was right behind in seventh place with $15 million, but all of that was from Christmas Day and the day following, as the Spielberg film released on the 25th. The WWI drama exceeded most expectations with this performance, and should have a couple of good weeks ahead of it.

Horror film "The Darkest Hour" was far less fortunate, bringing in $5.5 million on Christmas Day and the 26th. That's certainly not much, but the film only cost $30 million to make and might see more audiences this next week.

Meanwhile, the box office tank that was "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" has dropped out of the top 10 with these new, successful releases.

1. "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" - $46.2 million ($78.6M)
2. "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" - $31.8 million ($90.6M)
3. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" - $20 million ($56.9M)
4. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" - $19.4 million ($27.7M)
5. "The Adventures of Tintin" - $16.1 million ($24.1M)
6. "We Bought a Zoo" - $15.6 million
7. "War Horse" - $15 million
8. "The Darkest Hour" - $5.5 million