'The Devil Inside' wins box office weekend with $34.5 million

Audiences were looking for a good scare for the second box office weekend of 2012.

The documentary-style super natural horror film "The Devil Inside" earned an estimated $34.5 million over the weekend, according to the Associated Press.

According to the wire service, the film performed well above studio expectations. "The Devil Inside" follows a fake camera crew and a woman named Isabella Rossi, who is trying to free her mother, Maria, from a Catholic psychiatric hospital because Maria is believed to be possessed by demons and killed three people in the 1980s.

"The Devil Inside" was an independently produced movie before Paramount Pictures bought it for $1 million. The film is similar to the studio's other documentary-style horror film "Paranormal Activity," which has gone on to spawn a sequel and a prequel.

Last week's box office champ, "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," fell to second place after two weeks in the top spot. The movie earned an additional $20.5 million in its third weekend in release, raising its domestic total to $170.2 million.

In third place is the Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law film, "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows." The sequel to the first "Sherlock Holmes" film by director Guy Ritchie earned $14.1 million in its third weekend of release.

In fourth place is "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" with Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara. The film, which is based on a novel by the same name and remake of a Swedish film, earned an estimated $11.3 million, which raised its domestic total to $76.8 million.

Rounding out the top five is "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked." The CGI family film earned $9.5 million over the weekend.

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

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