In a surprise move from a film that had critics scratching their heads, Contraband smuggled more than its fair share of box office love, making it number one this weekend.
Mark Wahlberg stars in the action-thriller, Contraband, about an ex-smuggler who has to get back in the game to save his brother-in-law, played by Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar, The Rum Diary, Gone in Sixty Seconds). Kate Beckinsale plays Wahlberg’s gorgeous wife. With a star-studded cast like this it’s no wonder the film raked in an estimated $24 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
Mark Wahlberg‘s Contraband gets a splat >>
Disney’s rerelease in 3-D of Beauty in the Beast did well with an estimated $18 million, giving it the number two ranking of the holiday weekend. Figures reportedly were up from last year’s Martin Luther King holiday weekend. Fans of Disney’s mega-hit Tangled got to catch a glimpse of a sequel short film that aired before the main feature. Tangled Ever After gave audiences a look at the royal wedding between Rapunzel and Flynn Rider.
New Tangled short opens before Beauty and the Beast 3-D >>
Tom Cruise‘s unstoppable Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol slipped to third place with an estimated gross of $11.5 million. Not bad for the TV-series-turned-action-film-franchise that’s made Cruise everyone’s golden boy once again.
Movie review: Tom Cruise gets it done in Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol >>
Another newcomer this week, Joyful Noise, the musical comedy starring Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton underperformed by grabbing fourth place with only $11.3 million.
Movie review: Will Joyful Noise make sweet music for you? >>
Coming in fifth was Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. follow-up to the 2009 original, a new gritty series from Guy Ritchie. The film grossed an estimated $8.4 million.
Movie review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is gritty, witty and fun >>
The former number one spot-holder, The Devil Inside, dropped to sixth place this week, earning an estimated $7.9 million. The low-budget horror could only sustain its top spot for so long.
Rounding out the top ten were The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo coming in seventh with $6.8 million, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-wrecked coming in eighth with $5.8 million and War Horse coming in ninth with $5.6 million.
Meryl Streep‘s bio-pic, The Iron Lady, about Britain’s first female Prime Minster Margaret, grabbed a top 10 spot coming in tenth with an estimated $5.3.
Movie review: The Iron Lady >>
Photo credit: Universal Pictures
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