Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol Stays On Top Of Box Office For Second Weekend

It was another big weekend for Tom Cruise and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol as the movie once again grabbed the top spot with $31.3 million, bringing the movies domestic haul to just over $134.1 million. The $100 million mark also marked the first movie starring Tom Cruise to reach that level since 2006’s Mission Impossible III.

The movie debuted during the last weekend of 2011, during a time when Hollywood profits had slipped by 3.4% year-over-year, taking in $10.22 billion for the year.

According to Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian:

“This week was a pleasant surprise,” and “Last week, we were really pretty gloom and doom, but this final push at the end of the year was stronger than expected. It’s a good way to head into 2012, with at least a little bit of momentum at the box office.”

Even with the help of Mission Impossible ticket sales were slow in 2011 with a 4.2 percent slip in the number of tickets sold (1.28 billion) compared to 2010 sales figures.

It’s important to remember that the prior year was also buoyed by the massive success of Avatar which took in more than $2 billion worldwide or approximately a 20% equivalent of this years overall gross market.

2012 should be shaping up to be a better year as massive franchise movies are set to arrive including The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Avengers and Madagascar among others. If the box office needs a big boost towards the end of the year Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” will debut in December 2012.

Falling behind M.I. this past weekend was Robert Downey Jr.’s “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” which raked in $22.1 million for a domestic total of $132.1 million followed by “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked” which took in $18.3 million for a $94.6 million domestic haul.

Here are the Top 10 grossing movies at the box office for the weekend:

1. “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol,” $31.3 million.

2. “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” $22.1 million.

3. “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked,” $18.3 million.

4. “War Horse,” $16.9 million.

5. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” $16.3 million.

6. “We Bought a Zoo,” $14.3 million.

7. “The Adventures of Tintin,” $12 million.

8. “New Year’s Eve,” $6.7 million.

9. “The Darkest Hour,” $4.3 million.

10. “The Descendants,” $3.7 million.

Do any of the weekends top earners surprise you.