Weekend Box Office: 'The Devil Inside' Does Fiendishly Well

Can a movie score only 7% on Rotten Tomatoes, be enjoyed by only half of its audience, and still be considered a hit? Yes it can, and "The Devil Inside" is the proof.

The horror flick was the only major release of the weekend, and perhaps because of that lack of new competition, did quite well. "The Devil Inside" opened to an estimated $34.5 million for the weekend, making it a huge success for Paramount, who acquired the film for only $1 million.

Granted, since the movie was so badly received by both critics and audiences, those numbers aren't likely to hold over to next week, and you can expect a massive drop for the film. But Paramount has already made a nice profit here, and will be doing a happy dance pretty much no matter what happens next weekend.

A string of holiday releases followed behind, starting with "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," which came in second place at the box office with another solid $20.5 million. That brings the action flick's cume to $170.2 million with few signs of slowing down.

In third place was "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" with $14.1 million on the weekend. The cumulative total for the sequel now stands at $157.4 million, and while the movie was a little slower than the original, $150 mil domestic is certainly nothing for Warner Bros. to complain about. Expect a threequel.

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" continued its slow climb toward $100 million (and its slow march into the awards season) with another $11.4 million, bringing its cume to $76.8 million. Of the top five, "Dragon Tattoo" had the strongest hold, and should continue to draw modest but consistent audiences.

In fifth place was "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," which pulled another $9.5 million, vaulting it past $100 million to land at a cume of $111.6 mil. The movie is another sequel that didn't perform as expected, but nonetheless has turned out okay in the long run.

Next weekend's slate should be interesting, with the 3D re-release of "Beauty and the Beast." Will it match the success of "The Lion King 3D?"

1. "The Devil Inside" - $34.5 million
2. "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" - $20.5 million ($170.2M)
3. "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" - $14.2 million ($157.4M)
4. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" - $11.4 million ($76.8M)
5. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" - $9.5 million ($111.6M)