Weekend Box Office – ‘Contraband’ Makes a Stealthy First-Place Debut

Proving action movies are still box office catnip, Mark Wahlberg’s ‘Contraband‘ had a $24 million debut, making it the most popular flick at theaters this weekend.

Meanwhile, the 3D relaunch of the animated musical classic ‘Beauty and Beast’ came in second with $18.4 million, and ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol‘ held strong in third with $11.5 million.

The Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah collaboration ‘Joyful Noise‘ brought in $11.3 million to bow in fourth, and ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows‘ capped off the top five with $8.4 million in revenues.

Here’s a list of the top 10 movies at the box office Friday through Sunday with estimated grosses, along with how much each movie has made since its release:

1. ‘Contraband’ – $24 million, new release

2. ‘Beauty and Beast’ – $18.4 million, new release

3. ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ – $11.5 million, $186.7 million total

4. ‘Joyful Noise’ – $11.3 million, new release

5. ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’ – $8.4 million, $170 million total

6. ‘The Devil Inside’ – $7.9 million, $46.2 million total

7. ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ – $6.8 million, $87.9 million total

8. ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked’ – $5.8 million, $118.7 million total

9. ‘War Horse’ – $5.6 million, $65.7 million total

10. ‘The Iron Lady’ – $5.3 million, $5.9 million total