'Sherlock' wins sluggish weekend B.O.

'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'A pair of hefty holiday pics, Warner Bros.' "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" and Fox's "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," weren't enough to cure the domestic B.O.'s moviegoing malaise, as overall totals came in roughly 10%-15% behind the same frame last year. Paramount's "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," which also helped fuel Stateside biz with its limited week-early launch, boosted overseas box office, tallying a projected $68.2 million. "Sherlock Holmes" easily won the weekend with an estimated $40 million domestically, while "Alvin" came in at No. 2, grossing through Sunday a projected $23.5 million. Neither film managed to match opening totals of their predecessor pics, though the first "Sherlock" pic and Fox's "Alvin" sequel both launched over Christmas weekend in 2009. The inaugural "Alvin," however, bowed at $44 million during this same weekend in 2007 - a much livelier marketplace. Appealing to the same crowd as "Sherlock," Par's exclusive large-format bow of "Ghost Protocol" saw terrific results, totaling an estimated $13 million - the majority of which (nearly $11 million) came from Imax - at a total 425 locations. Pic's cume is $13.6 million, including additional revenues from late-night Thursday screenings. Par vice chairman Rob Moore said the early Imax-dominated launch was meant to encourage word-of-mouth among fanboys, who tend to be first-responders. "No matter what's going on, if you're someone who likes to see movies in Imax, you also like to see them first," Moore said. "Ghost Protocol," which expands nationwide Dec. 21, posted a $32,000 per-screen average. That's a stellar start for the film, even with the average premium ticket upcharge from large-format houses, ranging between $3.50 and $5. Specialty B.O. mostly continued to counteract sluggish commercial biz. Focus Features' "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" was the clear indie winner on an individual theater basis, beating even "Sherlock" and "Ghost Protocol" in a few of its total 16 engagements. "Tinker," which launched solidly last weekend, scored a soph-sesh per-screen average of $28,267 for an estimated weekend gross of $452,278. Pic's cume is slightly more than $850,000. Five-times Golden Globes nominee "The Descendants" also displayed sturdy legs, grossing an estimated $3.4 million from 878 playdates. "Descendants" dropped a scant 24% in its fifth week, with a Stateside cume of $28.7 million. Underperforming in limited release, Sony Pictures Classics' "Carnage" tallied an average of just $17,139 from five locations - a less-than-desirable start, especially during the competitive holiday time frame. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com