MLK Weekend Box Office: 'Contraband' Smuggles Over $28 Million

It's MLK weekend, which means that those of you who are students are probably enjoying a day off from classes while those of you who work are wistfully wishing you had the day off. If you do have the extra time, you might choose to be one of the many who decided to hit the theater this weekend, as box office sales had a decent run.

Standing atop the list was the Mark Wahlberg action thriller "Contraband," which drew a solid $28.8 million over the holiday weekend. That was a bit more than was expected of the movie, and it helped contribute to a slight rise in sales over this weekend last year. Could it be that all the box office slump needed was a new calendar year?

Following in second place was the 3D re-release of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast." The well-reviewed animated classic also overperformed, drawing $23.5 million over the weekend. Even with the extra day, that's less than "The Lion King 3D" did in its first weekend (about $29.3 million), but still a nice haul for Disney. This trend of 3D re-releases may continue well past the current slate, which includes "Finding Nemo" and "The Little Mermaid."

"Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" stayed strong for another $14.2 million in its fifth weekend. That brings the cumulative domestic total for the blockbuster to $189.4 million, setting it to pass the $200 million mark domestically in the next week.

That means that "Joyful Noise," the third wide release of the weekend, didn't have quite enough oomph to push past the action flick. The comedy-musical earned $13.8 million, and its staying power is anyone's guess: it did not receive good reviews, but it does have religious themes and audience-friendly musical numbers.

In fifth place was "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," just pushing back past "The Devil Inside," which won last weekend but dropped sharply in its second week with a haul of only $9.2 million. "Sherlock Holmes" ended up with another $10.5 million, putting its cumulative total at $172.1 million over five weeks.

1. "Contraband" - $28.8 million
2. "Beauty and the Beast 3D" - $23.5 million
3. "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" - $14.2 million ($189.4M)
4. "Joyful Noise" - $13.8 million 
5. "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" - $10.5 million ($172.1M)