CONTRABAND LAUNDERS $28.5 MILLION

Final box-office figures came in slightly below studio estimates for the 3-day and 4-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. Nevertheless, Universal’s Contraband starring Mark Wahlberg, performed far better than pundits had forecast, earning $24.3 million for the three-day period and $28.5 million for the four-. The 3D re-release of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast also performed nicely, earning $17.8 million over three days and $22.2 million over four. Still showing sturdy legs, Paramount’s Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol took third place in its fifth week with $11.7/14.2 million. That was slightly more than Warner Bros.’ Joyful Noise, which opened with $11.2/13.8 million. Overall, the box office tally was a near duplicate of last year’s for the same weekend, when The Green Hornet opened with $33.5/40 million. The box office was down .03 percent between Friday and Sunday and .08 percent between Friday and Monday, according to Box Office Mojo.

The top ten films over the 3-day/4-day holiday weekend, according to final figures compiled by Box Office Mojo (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date):
1. Contraband, Universal, $24,349,815 /$28,515,480, (New); 2. Beauty and The Beast, Disney, $17,751,905 /$22,213,922, (New); 3. Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, Paramount, $11,686,617 /$14,201,823, 5 Wks.($189,448,612 ); 4. Joyful Noise, Warner Bros., $11,225,190 /$13,802,308, (New); 5. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Warner Bros., $8,592,657 /$10,444,071, 5 Wks.($172,043,715 ); 6. The Devil Inside, Paramount, $8,028,439 /$9,034,861, 2 Wks. ($47,381,708 ); 7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Sony/Columbia, $6,660,907 /$8,032,763, 4 Wks. ($89,213,612 ); 8. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Fox, $5,893,831 /$8,002,573, 5 Wks.($120,983,861 ); 9. We Bought a Zoo, Fox, $5,560,781 /$7,369,231, 4 Wks. ($65,857,765 ); 10. War Horse, Disney, $5,923,128 /$7,350,537, 4 Wks. ($67,522,500).