"MI:4" going strong!

Writer: Peter Chai

4 Jan – The heat for "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" continually increased during the last weekend of 2011, bringing the total gross of the latest sequel to the "Mission Impossible" series to $132.5 million in the weekend box office charts. It also brought the movie one step closer to surpassing "Mission Impossible III"'s $134 total. Meanwhile, not much has changed since last week when Robert Downey Jr.'s "Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows" was at second place, followed by "Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked", according to online tracker, Box Office Mojo.

However, for Malaysia, Cruise is no match for "The Darkest Hour", Chris Gorak's action-thriller, which saw the invasion of electricity-sucking, ash-reducing aliens. However, if Cruise's past has any bearing on this, there is a high possibility that he may oust the aliens next week. Following behind "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" is third place holder, "Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows". Considering the lesser reception for the detective sequel, Guy Ritchie should take a leaf and stop meddling with the genre already.

In Singapore, a different mystery unfolds, with "Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows" nabbing the top spot at the weekend box office charts. Following that, "The Darkest Hour" took second place instead, leaving "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" to third. It was surmised that most moviegoers at Singapore have watched the secret agent sequel weeks earlier, and now it is time for the comeback man, Robert Downey Jr. to shine.

Other new releases last week in Malaysia were "Ah Beng The Movie: 3 Wishes", "Sesuatu Yang Tertinggal", "Turning Point: Laughing Gor Returns", "The Awakening", "8 am Number Veedu", "2359", "Zha The Movie", "Papa I Love You", "Hell's Gate", "Jack And Jill", and "Tough Guy 2: Fight To The End".

On the other hand, in Singapore, the new releases last week were "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2D)", "Pappu Can't Dance Saala", "Rajanna", "War Horse", "Turning Point: Laughing Gor Returns", "Margin Call" and "Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate".