'Contraband' Smuggles In $24-Million In 1st Weekend At Box Office

By Bill Wine

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Contraband stole the top spot at the box office this weekend.

The smuggling thriller starring Mark Wahlberg finished first on its debut weekend by earning an estimated $24-million. The debuting 3-D version of the animated classic, Beauty and the Beast, was the runner-up. It took in just under $19-million.

Third was the big-hit sequel, Mission Impossible -- Ghost Protocal, with $11-million. Virtually tied with it was the weekend's other new release, A Joyful Noise, the musical drama with Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton, while the holdover thriller sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, rounded out the top five with $8-million.

As for last weekend's surprise-hit leader, The Devil Inside, it dropped all the way to sixth place with a modest $8-million. Overall, industry-wide totals were the equivalent of those on the counterpart weekend last year.