Box Office – GHOST PROTOCOL Climbs to First; GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO a Distant Second

‘Twas the Wednesday before Christmas, but before I get going, I’ll end this rhyme so it doesn’t start blowing.  That’s right, we have arrived at that fabled time of year when Hollywood finally unwraps some of its most-anticipated titles.  After its IMAX triumph last weekend, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol went wide on Wednesday and quickly vaulted over both Sherlock Holmes 2 and Alvin and the Chipmunks 3 to claim first place with $8.6 million.  M:I 4 also topped David Fincher’s much-hyped version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which snuck into theatres a day ahead of its official December 21^st release date.  From 2,914 locations, Dragon Tattoo has earned an estimated $5.1 million so far – just slightly behind what True Grit saw on its pre-Christmas debut one year ago.  Rounding out yesterday’s top five was Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin.  One of Spielberg’s two end-of-year offerings (War Horse arrives on December 25^th), Tintin earned a relatively-soft $2.3 million from 3,087 domestic theatres, but a giant $240 million internationally.  With Christmas falling on a Sunday, this weekend’s totals are not expected to equal 2010 (when Little Fockers reigned), but we’ll keep you updated either way.