There was a full-fledged exorcism at the box office this weekend. Just seven days after The Devil Inside topped the charts with a shocking $34.5 million weekend, the schlocky screamfest took a diabolical 77% dive. Devil earned just an estimated $7.9 million and fell to sixth place—the metaphorical equivalent of a deep, sulphuric pit (in secular entertainment terms).
What took Devil’s place? Contraband, an R-rated thriller, swiped $24.1 million from North American theaters (perhaps Mark Wahlberg strapped all that cash around his middle) to win the weekend’s box office title. It was more than enough to hold off the 3-D re-release of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. But don’t sing a sad song for Belle and her hairy beau just yet: The Mouse House classic still hoofed its way to $18.5 million—enough to keep the chinaware singing for a good long while. Not bad for a movie that’s nearly 21 years old.
By that standard, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a veritable five-week-young whippersnapper (even though most movies half its age have already past their “sell-by” date), and the Tom Cruise-fronted thriller showed it still has some spring in its step by finishing a surprising third. Ghost Protocol earned $11.5 million to bring its total to $186.7 million.
With all that activity up top, Joyful Noise, the weekend’s third “new” entrant, didn’t make much noise at all. The gospel-tinged songfest featuring Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton earned $11.3 million to finish fourth. But all is not lost: The film feels as though it’d have some appeal for older moviegoers—an audience not known for rushing out to see flicks on their opening weekend. Joyful Noise could still pip a squeak.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows made another elementary showing, pocketing $8.4 million to nail down fifth place.
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