It looks like we’re ringing in the New Year with The Devil Inside and The Devil Inside alone. However, that certainly doesn’t guarantee it the top spot at the box office. In fact, The Devil Inside could get the same treatment as last year’s Season of the Witch, which opened with $10.6 million and snagged the third spot. Should that be the case, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol could also follow in last year’s True Grit and Little Fockers‘ footsteps, losing 40% of their profits. If things do pan out that way, Ghost Protocol will be on top with another $17.5 million and Game of Shadows right behind with about $12.5 million.
While Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked enjoyed a solid holiday run, its fun could be slashed in half for week four, leaving it with just $8 million. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, on the other hand, could hold on rather strong courtesy of some awards buzz. It certainly won’t make as much as Black Swan, but should it lose just 35% of its week two profits, it’ll take in another $9.5 million. War Horse, however, could come closer to Black Swan’s mere 8.7% early January drop and perhaps lose just about 25% and post $10 million.
As for We Bought a Zoo, with the holidays out of the picture it may lose a bit of its family-fun appeal and 40% of its week two profits, too. That would put it at #7 with about $8 million. The Adventures of Tintin could see a similar drop and post about $7 million, snagging the 8th position. While New Year’s Eve will certainly lose some of its appeal now that the holiday is long gone, it still should earn enough to stay on top of The Darkest Hour, which might see its profits slashed in half. The problem is, that 9th position will still be out of reach thanks to Tinker Tailor Solider Spy. After a stellar limited run, Tinker Tailor is set to expand to 809 theaters and should it maintain even a $7,000 per theater average as compared to last weekend’s sky high $19,043, it’ll earn close to $6 million, while New Year’s Eve will be lucky to accumulate half of that.
Shockya.com Predictions
1. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
2. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
3. The Devil Inside
4. War Horse
5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
6. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
7. We Bought a Zoo
8. The Adventures of Tintin
9. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
10. New Year’s Eve
By Perri Nemiroff (via Box Office Mojo)
