Box office weekend sees Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked debut. M:I - Ghost Protocol finds IMAX release, limited theaters.
Warner Bros. Pictures' eagerly anticipated Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows debuts in 3,703 locations, and should top the charts, despite opposition from the family-targeted Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked in 3,723 theaters.
The first Sherlock Holmes opened on December 25th, 2009 with a solid $62.3 million debut, before ending off with a big $209 million domestic cume and over $315 million overseas. Whether this will top that total remains to be seen.
The Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise has enjoyed a fruitful run thus far with the first film debuting on December 14th, 2007 with $44.3 million. Pic went on to post over $217.3 million in North America, while overseas, it earned $144 million. The sequel, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel opened December 23rd, 2009, making $48 million, before ending off with $219.6 million domestically, and a strong $223.5 million overseas.
Paramount Pictures opens their Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol into 300 IMAX locations, and 125 limited theaters, prior to its nationwide release next weekend. Expect a massive per-theater average from the Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg starrer.
Paramount also expands their Young Adult dramedy starring Charlize Theron. Pic moves into 986 theaters after a hefty $310,263 earned from a mere 8 theaters. Patrick Wilson, Patton Oswalt and Elizabeth Reaser also star in the Jason Reitman-directed film from the script by Juno writer Diablo Cody.
Indie-wise, Sony Pictures Classics' Carnage, helmed by Roman Polanski, finds 5 theaters, and should bring in a big per-theater average. Cast includes Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, John C. Reilly and Christoph Waltz.
Other releases include:
- Anchor Bay Films' Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel documentary in 2 theaters.
- Hannover House's Cook County in 5 theaters, with Anson Mount, Xander Berkeley and Ryan Donowho starring
- Paladin's Footprints in 1 theater.
Check out our upcoming-movies page for releases next weekend, sort by month and more. Be sure to check back Saturday for Friday box office estimates as well as Sunday for weekend box office estimates