The fourth in the Mission: Impossible film series starring Tom Cruise has already raked in over $78.6 million at the domestic box office so far. M:I:4 reportedly cost around $145 million to make, but is already on track to beat the total income of 2006′s Million: Impossible III, which took in over $134 million in domestic sales and almost $264 million overseas.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the sequel starring Robert Downey Jr., came in second over the weekend with a total earnings of over $59.3 million the past two weeks. Family friendly film Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, followed up in third. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo debuted in a solid fourth place, with Steven Spielberg‘s Adventures of Tintin in fifth.

While David Fincher‘s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo weekend box office opening was respectable, I can’t help but wonder if the timing was a little weird in releasing this film over the Christmas holiday. After all, Christmas isn’t necessarily the time you want to go watch a film full of rape, murder and psychological torture — no matter how well done it is.

X-Men: First Class, Source: 20th Century Fox

“We are ecstatic,” says Chris Aronson of 20th Century Fox told USAToday.com of the film’s weekend box office opening. “This was a complete reboot. We completely redid the cast. And it still was a hit.”

Starring James McAvoy, January Jones and a cast of up and coming fresh young actors, X-Men: First Classis set in the 1960s during the Cold War and Cuban Missile Crisis. The film focuses on the relationship of James McAvoy as Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender as Erik Lensherr (Magneto) and the creation of their respective mutant groups, the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants.

X-Men: First Class reportedly cost around $160 million to produce. The film easily beat out last weekend’s top movie, The Hangover: Part II, which came in second with an estimated $32.4 million. Kung Fu Panda 2 landed in third place with $24.3 million. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Bridesmaids rounded out the top five with $18 million and $12.1 million respectively.

Chris Hemsworth & Natalie Portman in 'Thor' - Marvel Studios

Of course, Thor does not have a lot of strong competition over the weekend besides Fast Five, now in its second week. The only two relatively large releases are both wedding comedies — Something Borrowed and Jumping the Broom. Neither is really likely to appeal that much to that big guy demographic. They are probably THRILLED to have an excuse to see Thor instead of having their girlfriends drag them to one of those sappy chick-flicks.

So far, Thor reviews have been decent on the whole, which is actually pretty high praise for a superhero movie. Still, it’s not exactly rocket science and it does also star Natalie Portman, who is one of Hollywood’s most wanted woman these days. Black Swan to No Strings Attached to  Thor, that girl certainly does pick the oddest movies…

Thor will undoubtably take the top spot at the weekend box office, followed by Fast Five at somewhere around $35 to $40 million. Something Borrowed and Jumping the Broom will battle it out, but we’re giving a slight edge to Something Borrowed. The G-Rated Rio will likely take the number five spot with its strong draw for the family with small kids crowd.

'Kick-Ass' (Universal Pictures/Lionsgate)

How To Train Your Dragon was almost the big dog at the weekend box office this time around, barely losing out to Kick-Ass for the top spot. Earlier estimates actually put Kick-Ass in second place, but more recent reports show the film barely squeaking ahead. Not that either film took home a huge load in the rankings.

How To Train Your Dragon brought in around $19.6 million based on box office estimates, with Kick-Ass taking about $19.8 million. The numbers were so close, so Kick-Ass barely pulled out a last minute victory and it was kind of a pathetic win.

Tina Fey and Steve Carell’s Date Night placed in third at the weekend box office top five, followed by Death at a Funeral in fourth and Clash of the Titans in fifth.

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Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney)

Alice in Wonderland has already made over $200 million since it hit theaters March 5. In addition to massive ticket sales, the film has also set a number of box office records. Alice had the sixth largest box office opening of all time, the highest debut ever for a 3-D film and the best ever Imax launch.

Coming in second for the weekend was the Matt Damon Iraq war film Green Zone, collecting a relatively paltry $14.5 million for NBC Universal. Rounding out the top five at the weekend box office were Jay Baruchel‘s She’s Out of My League, Robert Pattinson‘s Remember Me and America Ferrera‘s Our Family Wedding.

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Avatar

Avatar topped the box office over the weekend with $73 million in U.S. ticket sales, the second-highest grossing December debut of all time. Avatar has raked in around $232 million worldwide so far. Although exact figures have not been released, it is estimated the film cost between $300 and $500 million to produce and market.

Although some critics were a bit put off by previews of the film, Avatar has been widely praised by reviewers and audiences alike since its release. The movie is surprisingly thoughtful for such a big-budget blockbuster and few can argue that film is spectacularly gorgeous to watch.

Disney’s The Princess and the Frog came in at number two in the weekend box office with $12.2 million, followed by the dark horse Sandra Bullock flick The Blind Side with $10 million. The Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant comedy Did You Hear About the Morgans came in at fourth with $7 million, followed by The Twilight Saga: New Moon in fifth with $4.4 million.

Next weekend Avatar will battle for the top spot against upcoming releases Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr. and the romantic comedy It’s Complicated, starring Meryl Streep.

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The Blind Side surged to the number one spot in the box office, raking in $20.4 million in sales. The film opened at the number 2 spot against New Moon, but has now overtaken the blockbuster vampire sequel. Not a big deal for Summit Entertainment, however, considering New Moon has already stacked up a total gross of over $245 million.

Brothers, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire, crept into third place at the box office, bringing in only $9.7 million. Heist thriller Armored stumbled into fourth place, while the John Travolta and Robin Williams comedy Old Dog rounded out the top five.

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The story of a Southern woman who adopts a homeless youth and supports him pursuing his athletic dreams was a major hit at the box office, raking in $40.1 million. Just a few million more and The Blind Side would have pulled off a major coup at the box office.

The end of the world disaster film 2012 rounded out the top three films, with Old Dogs and A Christmas Carol finishing off the top three. The much hyped action flick Ninja Assassin failed to even break the top five, recouping only $13.1 million of the film’s $40 million budget so far.

The question is, can New Moon hold on for yet another week in the number one spot? Should be interesting to see how next week’s list pans out.

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That’s right, New Moon came in third after blockbuster movies The Dark Night and Spider-Man 3 - take that Harry Potter! The Twilight Saga: New Moon beat out The Blind Side and 2012 to take the top spot in the U.S. weekend box office and also topped the charts in the UK.

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart posted on Summit Entertainment’s Twitter feed Monday, thanking fans for their enormous support. “Thank you for making New Moon #1,” Pattinson posted. “It’s very exciting to be a part of something embraced by so many people. I hope you are looking forward to Eclipse as much as I am.”

Rumored real-life love interest Kristen Stewart posted next, saying: “You all have proven you’re the most amazing fans in the world once again.”

“Yes, I twittered,” Stewart continued. “Or twitted…tweeted? I dunno, but thank you sooo much anyway!”

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