Box office

YOUR WEAKEND BOX OFFICE: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (Warner Bros.) opened to an estimated $40 million, not a bad number but still significantly lower than its predecessor’s $62.3 million over Christmas weekend in 2009. The movie averaged $10,807 in 3703 theaters. Next was Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (20th Century Fox), which debuted to an estimated $23.5 million, compared to The Squeakquel's $48.9 million and the first Alvin's $44.3 million. The animated feature averaged $6312 on 3723 screens. With $13 million, Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (Paramount) opened strong in limited release, averaging a robust $30,588 on 425 screens. Last week’s #1 movie, New Year’s Eve (WB/New Line), posted $7.42m, down 43%, while The Sitter (Fox) took in $4.4m in its second week. More at Box Office Mojo. (12/19a)