January 17, 2012 by Vinnie Leduc
Mark Wahlberg’s new film Contraband was delivered to the top of the domestic box office over the MLK holiday weekend. It bested the other two new wide releases, Disney’s 3D re-release of Best Picture Oscar nominee Beauty and the Beast and Queen Latifah / Dolly Parton musical Joyful Noise, which opened to second and fourth places, respectively.
Contraband opened to the 8th biggest MLK weekend debut ever, and Beauty and the Beast broke the record for biggest January opening for an animated movie. Disney hopes that the 3D re-release will perform as well as that of The Lion King, which added almost another $100 million a few months ago. The Devil Inside suffered a huge drop of 76.2%, but its budget was under $1 million, and its grosses will soon cross the $50 million mark. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol took third place as it nears the $200 million mark.
Here were the top 5 in the domestic box office last weekend via BOM:
- Contraband — Weekend Gross: $24.3 million — Total Gross: $24.3 million (new)
- Beauty and the Beast — Weekend Gross: $17.8 million — Total Gross: $17.8 million (re-release), $196.5 million (total)
- Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol — Weekend Gross: $11.7 million — Total Gross: $186.9 million (#2 last week)
- Joyful Noise — Weekend Gross: $11.2 million — Total Gross: $11.2 million (new)
- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows — Weekend Gross: $8.6 million — Total Gross: $170.2 million (#3 last week)
