Weekend Box Office: Holmes Tackles The Case of the Missing Audience

Three new movies, all sequels, opened this weekend and took the top three spots. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows came in first with an estimated $40.02 million, which is more than $20 million less than the original Sherlock Holmes‘ $62.3 million over Christmas weekend in 2009. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, the third Chipmunk flick took second place with an estimated $23.5 million. That’s less than half of The Squeakquel‘s $48.9 million and also significantly less than the first Chipmunk’s $44.3 million opening. Closing out the top three is Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, which earned an estimated $13 million in limited releases. The fourth MI movie opened on less than 450 screens with a majority being IMAX screens. The movie will go into full release on Wednesday.

Of the top three, I’ll probably see Sherlock Holmes over the upcoming holiday break. I loved the first one and A Game of Shadows looks pretty good. You couldn’t pay me to sit through Chipwrecked. Judging by the commercials, this move is filled with songs and jokes that were relevant three years ago. Finally, Ghost Protocol. I really enjoyed the first two MI movies but the third was so awful that there is no way I would willingly fork over my hard-earned money at the theater for another chance at a craptastic Cruise movie.

What about you? Are you planning on seeing any of these movies (or any others) over the holidays?

Here is the top 10 for the weekend of December 16 – 18, 2011:

1. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows ($40,020,000)
2. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked ($23,500,000)
3. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol ($13,000,000)
4. New Year’s Eve ($7,420,000)
5. The Sitter ($4,400,000)
6. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part ($4,300,000)
7. Young Adult ($3,650,000)
8. Hugo ($3,625,000)
9. Arthur Christmas ($3,600,000)
10. The Muppets ($3,454,000)

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