The Devil Inside is a critical punching bag, but Paramount knew what they were doing with the marketing with this cheap $1 million acquisition.  The horror movie grossed $16.9 million opening day on its way to a potential $30 million weekend.  The Devil Inside has already become infamous for a terrible ending, so it's unlikely this will hold up over the coming weeks, but a great start might be enough for the low-budget effort.  The top 5 is rounded out by the big holiday movies, with Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows leading the charge.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo continues to find an audience three weeks into its run---it may yet hit the $100 million mark.  War Horse came in at #5 while passing $50 million.

Title

Friday

Total

1

The Devil Inside

$16,850,000

$16.9

2

Mission: Impossible 4

$6,213,000

$155.9

3

Sherlock Holmes 2

$4,285,000

$147.6

4

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

$3,500,000

$69.0

5

War Horse

$2,606,000

$50.8

5,565,000