'Contraband' steal holiday box office crown

Mark Wahlberg's "Contraband" stole the box office crown, pulling in a better-than-expected $24.5 million over the four-day holiday weekend.

'Contraband' earned $24.5 million.

Disney's 3D re-release of its classic "Beauty and the Beast" performed quite well in second place with $17.7 million.

"Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" continued its solid performance, dropping to third place in its fifth week with $11.7 million and a cumulative total of $186 million.

Rounding out the weekend's new wide releases was the Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah-starring "Joyful Noise," which drew $11.2 million.

"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" has been another successful December holdover and added $8.6 million over the four-day period.

Last weekend's surprise champ, "The Devil Inside," however, plummeted 76 percent in its second week, collecting only $8 million.

Expanding into a semi-wide release of 800 theaters, "The Iron Lady" just missed the top 10, collecting $5.4 million.

The complete list of the top 10 grossing films is:

1. "Contraband," $24.5 million (New)
2. "Beauty and the Beast 3D," $17.7 million (New)
3. "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," $11.7 million ($186.9 million)
4. "Joyful Noise," $11.2 million (New)
5. "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," $8.6 million ($170.2 million) 
6. "The Devil Inside," $8 million ($46.3 million)
7. "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," $6.7 million (Total: $87.8 million)
8. "War Horse," $5.9 million ($66.1 million)
9. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," $5.9 million ($118.8 million) 
10. "We Bought a Zoo," $5.5 million (Total: $64 million)

'The Devil Inside' possesses weekend box office

The new year got off to a surprisingly fast start thanks to an over-performing horror film that's getting decided mixed reviews from audiences.

The surprise winner earned $34.5 million.

The low budget, found-footage horror film "The Devil Inside" dominated the weekend box office, grossing an estimated $34.5 million, good for the third highest grossing January weekend ever behind 2008's "Cloverfield" and the 1997 re-release of "Star Wars."

Paramount picked up the film for only $1 million and managed to make its money back on the Thursday midnight showings alone. The downside was the incredibly poor reception from those who did see the movie, leading to a rare "F" CinemaScore.

Following in second place was "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," which picked up $20.5 million in its fourth weekend.

"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" also performed dutifully in its fourth weekend, bringing in slightly more than $14 million.

"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" had the smallest weekend to weekend drop-off of any returning film in the top 10, finishing with $11.3 million. It still has some ground to make up with a total gross over three weeks of $76 million compared to its $90 million production budget.

Rounding out the top five was "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" with $9.5 million.

Meanwhile, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" expanded into a semi-wide release on some 800 screens, grossing $5.7 million and placing ninth in its fifth week.

The top 10 grossing films were:

1. "The Devil Inside," $34.5 million (New)
2. "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," $20.5 million ($170.2 million) 
3. "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," $14 million ($157.4 million) 
4. "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," $11.3 million (Total: $76.8 million)
5. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," $9.5 million ($111.5 million) 
6. "War Horse," $8.6 million ($56.8 million)
7. "We Bought a Zoo," $8.4 million (Total: $56.5 million)
8. "The Adventures of Tintin," $6.6 million ($61.8 million) 
9. "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," $5.7 million (Total: $10.4 million)
10. "New Year's Eve," $3.2 million ($52 million)