Tops at the Box Office: Sherlock Holmes disappoints; Mission Impossible soars in IMAX

1. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows- $40M
Warner Brothers wasn't expecting this sequel to match the $62M opening of the last hit film, but $40M is way below anybody's expectations. Part of the reason could be the flat box office overall, continuing the downward trend of the last few weeks, but more than likely some of the action audience was sliced off by Mission: Impossible and it's promise of IMAX thrills and a 6-minute preview of The Dark Knight Rises.This is interesting, because Warner Brothers is said to be really pissed at the impact the preview has had, as it significantly boosted Mission: Impossible, but sliced into Sherlock Holmes. They got nobody to blame but themselves, since it was their decision to help out a competitor.

2. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked- $23.5M
Have Alvin and his bros(and their female counterparts) sung their last tune? The third film in the wildly popular series grossed about half of what the previous two films opened with, and at this rate will have a tough time surpassing their combined $400M+ domestic haul.
3. Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol- $13M
Paramount gambled, and that gamble paid off in spades. What some were seeing as a blow-off to the long running spy franchise appears to be alive and well, taking in a whopping $30,500 per screen at only 425 IMAX screens. That's insane, and bodes well for the expanded release on December 21st. Certainly, Warner Brothers' boob-brained move of attaching that Batman preview helped. Next week they won't be so lucky.
4. New Year's Eve- $7.42M/$24.8M
5. The Sitter- $4.4M/$17.2M
6. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn pt. 1- $4.3M/$266M
7. Young Adult- $3.65M/$4.09M
Well, the feel bad comedy of the year lived down to the hype, as Jason Reitman's film expanded to 986 screens pulled in a disappointing $3.65M. The hope for this one is that Oscar buzz for Charlize Theron will push long term success, as has been the case with Reitman's other films.
8. Hugo- $3.62M/$39.1M
9. Arthur Christmas- $3.6M/$38.5M
10. The Muppets- $3.5M/$70.9M