'Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol' leads Christmas box office

"Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" is proving to be the film to beat at the holiday box office this weekend.

The Tom Cruise espionage thriller topped the box office on Friday, taking in an estimated $9.5 to $10 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The sum raises its domestic total to $41 million.

The fourth film in the "Mission Impossible" franchise actually hit theaters last week in an exclusive IMAX only release. It opened in theaters nation-wide on December 21.

In "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," Cruise reprises his role as Ethan Hunt. Hunt is an Impossible Missions Force agent whose agency is shut down after being implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin. As a result, Hunt and his team go on a rogue mission to clear their names. The cast also includes Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Vladimir Mashkov, Ving Rhames, Josh Holloway and Simon Pegg.

In second place is "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law reprising their roles as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. The sequel reportedly earned $6.5 to $7 million on Friday. Meanwhile, the family friendly film "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" came in third place with $5.3 million.

The highly-anticipated Hollywood remake of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" came in fourth place for the Friday. The movie earned an estimated $4.5 million to $5 million, which makes its three-day total around $13 million, according to the industry paper.

The film is based on the Stieg Larsson novel of the same name. Daniel Craig plays Mikael Blomkvist, a disgraced journalist accused of libel who takes a leave of absence from Millennium magazine. He is called into action by Henirk Vanger to investigate the 1966 disappearance of his grandniece Harriet. Blomkvist's life eventually becomes tied to Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara).

In fifth place is the animated film "The Adventures of Tintin" directed by Steven Spielberg. The animated movie, which is based on a well known international character, grossed $3.5 million to $4 million on Friday. That sum raises the movie's domestic three-day total to $11 million.

Check out the trailers for "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and "The Adventures of Tintin" below.

(Copyright ©2011 OnTheRedCarpet.com. All Rights Reserved.)

View the original article here