Friday Box Office – MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL Stays Ahead of Holiday Competition

With three days before Hollywood’s jam-packed holiday season comes to a close, and with no major new studio releases, last week’s holdovers got a chance to stretch their legs on Friday.  After dominating the charts since it went wide ten days ago, Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol was yesterday’s winner with an estimated $10.7 million. This season’s all-purpose hit passed the $100 million mark on Thursday and is projected to take in another $35 million by the end of the four-day weekend.  Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows also hit $100 million (on Wednesday). Although the WB sequel was pushed into third by Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked on Wednesday and Thursday, Sherlock 2 should finish the holiday frame back in second place with $30 million to Alvin 3’s $25. As expected, each of the top five films saw a significant spike in earnings over last Friday; with the most impressive gain made by Fox’s We Bought a Zoo which rose 40% above its December 23^rd debut.  Just missing the top five, War Horse lost some momentum after its strong showing on Christmas Day.  The Disney/Dreamworks pic is projected to post $18 million through Monday – just ahead of director Steven Spielberg’s second holiday release: The Adventures of Tintin.  Check back for details and analysis.