Box Office: ‘The Devil Inside’ Dethrones ‘Mission: Impossible’

What a surprise! The Devil Inside has everyone talking, and I can tell you they’re not talking about how great the movie is, instead people are talking about the film’s shocking box office numbers in the first weekend of 2012. The Devil Inside made a spot for itself in cinema history; since the film’s premier it not only topped Mission: Impossible in its fourth weekend, but also achieved the third highest January opening weekend in history, just behind the highly anticipated alien film, Cloverfield and 1997 Star Wars.

The Devil Inside grossed a total of $34.5 million over the weekend, despite the critic’s trashing reviews. And the critics weren’t the only ones panning the film; movie-goers everywhere complained about the film’s plot holes and ill-timed ending. Yet somehow the film just about tripled the predictions of the most optimistic. The Devil Inside opened higher than many other January openers: The Book of Eli, Green Hornet, and Gran Torino. Unlike those films, expect the legs for The Devil Inside to buckle at an alarming rate. On the plus side, Paramount has made a killing in “found footage films”. The studio, who’s also distributor of the Paranormal Franchise, has only proved that mockumentaries are and will continue to be a box office draw. With a budget of $1 million, The Devil Inside made its profits in midnight showings alone.

Although the action king and his Impossible Mission Force can no longer claim the title “Number 1 Film in the World”, the team can continue celebrating. Over the weekend, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol fell to second place, bowing down to The Devil Inside. Mission: Impossible grossed $20.5 million for a domestic total of $169 million. With only 24 days at the box office, the film is well on its way to becoming the top-grossing Mission: Impossible film to date. Back in 2000, Mission: Impossible 2 grossed $215.4 million to claim the title of highest grossing film in the series.

Warner Bros. popular action/spy team came in third place this weekend. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows grossed a total of $14 million, reeling in its domestic total to $157 million. By the 24 day, its predecessor, Sherlock Holmes had grossed $180 million domestically. A Game of Shadows is slowly catching up, but will probably end its run several million behind Sherlock Holmes.

This weekend proved somewhat of a success for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The film’s legs, due to word-of-mouth stood strong, taking the fourth this weekend. The Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig film raked in $11.3 million bringing its domestic total $76.9 million. With a world-wide gross of $106 million, the studio has official passed the production budget of $90 million.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked grossed $9.5 million for 5th place and $111.5 million to date. The furry guys are still hanging in there, but will more than likely be the lowest grossing Chipmunk film to date.

Box Office Report: January 6th-8th

1. The Devil Inside $34,500,000
2. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol $20,500,000
3. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows $14,055,000
4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo $11,300,000
5.  Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked $9,500,000
6.  War Horse $8,603,000
7. We Bought a Zoo $8,450,000
8. The Adventures of Tintin $6,600,000
9. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy $5,767,288
10. New Year’s Eve $3,265,000