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The late week indications that Red Tails might pull off an upset this weekend proved to be unfounded, as Underworld Awakening easily took first place at the box office on Friday. Red Tails did have an above-average turnout, though, and it should wind up on the high end of most expectations. The same can't be said for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and Haywire, neither of which attracted a ton of attention. Also disappointing was the nationwide expansion of The Artist, which can't seem to get enough awards attention to overcome its black-and-white-and-silent challenge.George LucasTom HanksSandra BullockSteven Soderbergh

Even with plenty of competition, Underworld Awakening should still sink its teeth in to the top spot at the box office this weekend. The fourth entry in the action/horror franchise reaches 3,078 locations, while fellow newcomers Red Tails and Haywire open at 2,512 and 2,440 theaters, respectively. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close should attract a sizeable audience in 2,630 theaters, and The Artist will leverage plenty of awards buzz in just 662 theaters. With the plethora of new options, along with a bunch of solid holdovers, it's hard to imagine this weekend finishing below the same time frame last year ($102.7 million). Kate BeckinsaleMilla JovovichGeorge LucasJames FrancoSteven SoderberghChanning TatumMichael FassbenderEwan McGregorAntonio BanderasMichael DouglasTom HanksSandra Bullock

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows led the foreign box office for the second-straight weekend, this time generating $29.6 million from 57 markets. The sequel opened to $3.3 million in Brazil and $2.9 million from just one day in China. So far, Sherlock has earned $224.2 million overseas, which is 14 percent ahead of the first Sherlock according to distributor Warner Bros. International. With France and Japan still left to open, Sherlock 2 will probably surpass its predecessor's $315 million total. Tom CruiseDavid Fincher

With one of Mark Wahlberg's best openings ever, Contraband managed to hold off Beauty and the Beast (3D) to claim first place over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. Chart stalwart Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol took third place ahead of newcomer Joyful Noise, while The Devil Inside had one of the worst second weekend drops ever. For the four-day frame, overall box office was at around $163 million, which is up a bit from the same weekend last year ($159 million).Queen LatifahRoman Polanski

Mark Wahlberg flexed his box office muscles on Friday with his latest thriller Contraband, which easily claimed first place with an estimated $8.7 million. Disney's 3D re-release of Beauty and the Beast was far behind in second, though it should close the gap substantially by the end of the four-day weekend. The final newcomer, Joyful Noise, edged out Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol for third, though positions could reverse over the next few days. Overall, the Top 10 made an estimated $32.6 million yesterday, which is identical to the same Friday last year.Queen Latifah

With the holiday releases finally starting to wind down a bit, three new nationwide releases are reaching theaters over Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend. Following their enormous success re-releasing The Lion King in 3D, Disney is unveiling the 3D version of Beauty and the Beast at 2,625 theaters this weekend. While the animated re-release probably has the best chance at claiming first place, it should be in a tight race with Contraband, which finds Mark Wahlberg punching people in the face at 2,863 venues. Meanwhile, Dolly Parton makes her first big screen appearance in nearly 20 years in Joyful Noise, which will open at 2,735 theaters. Finally, after two very successful weeks in limited release, The Iron Lady expands nationwide (802 theaters) on Friday. Queen LatifahMeryl Streep

For the first time since 2007, Warner Bros. yielded the top spot at the domestic box office to another studio. Paramount Pictures leveraged an impressive line-up to claim first place in 2011 with nearly $2 billion in revenue, or 19.2 percent of total box office. Overall, the Big Six studios (Paramount, Warner Bros., Sony/Columbia, Disney, Universal and 20th Century Fox) accounted for 81.2 percent of box office in 2011, which was in between 2010 (82.6 percent) and 2009 (80.5 percent).Zack SnyderJennifer AnistonAdam SandlerJudd ApatowVince VaughnKevin JamesTom HanksJustin TimberlakeAmanda Seyfried

After Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol dominated the foreign circuit for three-straight weeks, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows expanded in to a few key markets and moved up to the top spot at the overseas box office. David FincherClint EastwoodMeryl Streep

The Devil Inside crushed even the most generous forecasts this weekend and easily claimed first place ahead of fellow Paramount release Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. Its impressive debut combined with strong holdover performances resulted in an estimated $126.2 million Top 12 gross, which is up a whopping 28 percent from the same weekend last year (though it's off 15 percent from the same frame in 2010). Steven SpielbergPeter Jackson

The Devil Inside got the year off to a great start with a massive $16.85 million debut on Friday. Add in solid Christmas holdovers and the Top 10 earned an estimated $42.7 million yesterday, which is up an enormous 61 percent from the first Friday of 2011. Perhaps more impressive is that it's about even with the same Friday in 2010, which was when Avatar was still driving unusually high results. Steven Spielberg

In a year that relied heavily on sequels and 3D, total domestic box office tumbled 3.8 percent to around $10.17 billion. That's the third-highest grossing year ever, though it ranks behind both 2009 and 2010. What's worse is that ticket sales fell roughly 4.7 percent to 1.28 billion, which is the lowest level since 1995.

Midnight Update: The Devil Inside scored a huge $2 million from around 1,400 locations at midnight. For comparison, The Last Exorcism earned around $750,000 from its midnight opening in August 2010 ahead of a $20.4 million weekend. It now looks like The Devil Inside should have no problem claiming the top spot at the box office this weekend with over $20 million.

Reinforcing Tom Cruise's status as an international superstar, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol had no problem leading the foreign box office for the third weekend in a row. The fourth installment in the espionage franchise added $46.2 million from 43 markets, and including Monday and Tuesday grosses has already made $245.7 million overseas. The movie opened last Monday (Boxing Day) in the United Kingdom, and has earned a strong $14.3 million through its first nine days there. Including its domestic revenues, Ghost Protocol is at around $390 million worldwide, and should pass $400 million in the next few days.

The Top 7 movies of 2011 were all sequels, and that list could grow to nine once Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows have ended their runs. It may be similar in 2012, albeit with more prequels and spin-offs sprinkled in as well. Including Prometheus, which now appears to be an Alien prequel, there are at least 27 sequels, prequels or spin-offs already scheduled, which represents roughly 20 percent of the nationwide releases currently on the calendar. Christopher NolanDaniel CraigRidley ScottMatt DamonJeremy RennerArnold SchwarzeneggerBruce WillisPaul RuddLeslie Mann

With 2011 coming to an end this weekend, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol once again claimed the top spot at the box office. Not far behind were fellow sequels Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, followed by a surging War Horse and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The Top 12 earned $139.6 million, which is slightly down from the same frame last year ($148.6 million) and seven percent up on 2005 (the last time New Year's fell on a Sunday). David FincherSteven SpielbergCameron Crowe

For the third Friday in a row, three sequels claimed the Top Three spots at the box office. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol extended its impressive run with another first place finish, while Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked continued to draw large holiday crowds. The big loser on Friday actually looks to be Steven Spielberg, with his War Horse and The Adventures of Tintin finishing sixth and seventh, respectively.Cameron CroweMatt DamonMeryl Streep

Audiences looking to catch up on the crush of holiday movies have another chance over New Year's weekend, which officially qualifies as the final weekend of 2011.Meryl Streep

With the U.S. box office poised to finish down around four percent year-over-year for 2011, Hollywood is setting its sights on 2012 with the hope that grosses can at least stabilize in the next 12 months. Similar to 2011, the upcoming lineup is packed with established and aspiring franchises and plenty of animated titles, most of which will be delivered in 3D. Considering audience interest in these areas appears to be on the decline, 2012 may not deliver the sort of jolt needed to revive confidence in the theatrical business. Christopher NolanMatt Damon

Along with claiming first place at the domestic box office, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol maintained its grip on the foreign charts as well over Christmas weekend. Matt Damon