'Contraband' Tops US Weekend B-O

JAN 16, 2012 - With one of Mark Wahlberg's best openings ever, Contraband managed to hold off Beauty and the Beast 3D to claim first place over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend.

Chart stalwart Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol took third place ahead of newcomer Joyful Noise, while The Devil Inside had one of the worst second weekend drops ever. For the four-day frame, the Top 12 made US$141.6 million this weekend, which is about on par with the same frame last year.

Here are the Top 5 North American B-O studio estimates for Jan 13-15, 2012 weekend, in terms of rank, (previous week ranking), Movie name (studio), Weekend takings in USD, (Cumulative gross, USD) and week on chart, courtesy of Boxofficemojo. (US$1=RM3)

1. (-) Contraband (Universal) $24.5 million ($24.5 million) 1

2. (-) Beauty and the Beast 3D (BV) $17.7 million ($17.7 million) 1

3. (2) Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (Paramount) $11.7 million ($186.9 million) 5

4. (-) Joyful Noise (WB) $11.2 million ($11.2 million) 1

5. (3) Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (WB) $8.6 million ($170.2 million) 5