This week, the US Box Office did not did way better than expected. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadow, Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol debuted on a week when three sequels fated to rule.
Sherlock Holmes sequel fared only US$40.0 million, which was down from 2009 predecessor's US$ 62.3 million over the Christmas week. The sequel opened at 3,703 locations for an average of $10,807 - pretty solid but not hysterical. The weekend gross was shocking considering how the premise has a well-liked original picture, thus a built-in crowd should have been installed to drive the movie to open bigger. Unfortunately, that did not materialize and it would left to battle for more numbers in the coming holiday weeks. Distributor Warner Bros. Pictures is reporting that the audience was 59 percent male and 50 percent under the age of 35, and that it received an "A-" CinemaScore.
The Chipmunks gang was back with the third installment from the popular family pictures but was also unable to repeat a strong number posted by its predecessors. Only US$ 23.5 million, or half of what the first two installments debuted, from 3,723 locations for an average of $6,312. Distributor 20th Century Fox reports that the audience was 54 percent female and 53 percent under the age of 25. The movie earned a "B+" CinemaScore.
While the two debuts fared slower than expected, the third sequel of the week came out better than expected. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol employed a different marketing approach by releasing in IMAX theaters 5 days earlier before nationwide release. Buoyed by good reviews including one from me, the fourth Mission: Impossible opened an estimated US$13 million from only 425 locations, an average of $36,667.
Full chart coming up as the rest of the week's box office looks like this and is based on studio's estimated data:
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross ($) | Change (%) | Total Gross ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS | 40,020,000 | NEW | 40,020,000 |
| 2 | ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIPWRECKED | 23,500,000 | NEW | 23,500,000 |
| 3 | MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL | 13,000,000 | NEW | 13,600,000 |
| 4 | NEW YEAR'S EVE | 7,420,000 | -43.0 | 24,826,000 |
| 5 | THE SITTER | 4,400,000 | -55.3 | 17,721,000 |
| 6 | THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 1 | 4,300,000 | -45.0 | 266,400,000 |
| 7 | YOUNG ADULT | 3,650,000 | +1076.4 | 4,090,000 |
| 8 | HUGO | 3,625,000 | -40.1 | 39,073,000 |
| 9 | ARTHUR CHRISTMAS | 3,600,000 | -44.7 | 38,547,000 |
| 10 | THE MUPPETS | 3,454,000 | -50.5 | 70,928,000 |
| 11 | THE DESCENDANTS | 3,350,000 | -23.5 | 28,728,000 |
| 12 | JACK AND JILL | 1,225,000 | -60.3 | 70,503,000 |
