Mark Wahlberg has done it again, coming in first at the weekend box office with his latest, Contraband. The smuggler’s tale earned $24 million in its first weekend of release. The thriller also stars Kate Beckinsale (to be seen this weekend in Underworld Awakening) and Giovanni Ribisi.
Coming in second was the latest Disney classic to get the 3D makeover after The Lion King triumphed in the fall, Beauty and the Beast. The classic film’s re-release earned $18.5 million. Where Lion King 3D scored a first place spot for two straight weeks, Beauty and the Beast had to settle for second place, albeit an impressive take with over $18 million in tickets sold.
Tom Cruise kept chugging along as his Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol came in third, adding another $11.5 million to its total. The second new film of the weekend, the Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah-starring Joyful Noise, came in fourth with a respectable $11.3 million. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, like Ghost Protocol, continues to impress even though it arrived before New Year’s. The latest Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law tandem took in $8.4 million.
Last weekend’s record-breaking film, The Devil Inside, fell to sixth place and banked $7.9 million. Meryl Streep’s The Iron Lady marked its national release, landing in tenth place with $5.3 million.
Box office top 10:
1. Contraband, $24 million
2. Beauty and the Beast, $18.5 million
3. Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, $11.5 million
4. Joyful Noise, $11.3 million
5. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, $8.4 million
6. The Devil Inside, $7.9 million
7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, $6.8 million
8. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, $5.8 million
9. War Horse, $5.6 million
10. The Iron Lady, $5.3 million