“Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” accomplished its first mission by landing on top of the weekend box office. But the overall box office is slightly down so far this holiday season.
The new action movie, which stars Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton, finished at No. 1, taking in $26. 5 million, according to estimates from Hollywood.com. Final figures are due out later today. The movie, distributed by Paramount Pictures, was directed by Brad Bird, who is best known for directing animated movies such as Pixar’s “The Incredibles.”
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” (Warner Bros.) finished in second place with $17.8 million.
“Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked” (Fox) placed third with $13.3 million.
The overall box office haul was down 4.5% compared to this time last year, according to Hollywood.com. The theaters are also laden with sequels: the three top films are new installments of already-established franchises.
