Tom Cruise's 'Mission: Impossible' performance scores second straight weekend box office win

The Associated PressIn this file image released by Paramount Pictures, Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt, left, Paula Patton plays Jane, Simon Pegg plays Benji, and Jeremy Renner plays Brandt, right, in a scene from "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol."

Tom Cruise is off to a good start for the new year with a second-straight No. 1 weekend at the box office.

Cruise's "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" took in an estimated $38.3 million domestically over the long holiday weekend from Friday to Monday. That raised its total to $141.2 million.

"Ghost Protocol" also pulled in $37 million overseas to push its international total to $225.3 million and worldwide haul to $366.5 million.

The movie helped lift distributor Paramount to a record $5.17 billion in worldwide box office for 2011, topping the previous high of $4.8 billion set by Warner Bros. in 2010.

Paramount's 2011 hits included "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," which took in $1.1 billion worldwide, along with "Thor," "Captain America: The First Avenger," "Kung Fu Panda 2," "Puss in Boots" and "Rango."

Finishing second again for the weekend was Robert Downey Jr.'s "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" with $26.5 million. The family sequel "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" came in third with $21 million.

Rounding out the top-five were Steven Spielberg's "War Horse" at No. 4 with $19.2 million and David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" just ! behind a t No. 5 with $19 million.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Monday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol," Paramount, $38,325,000, 3,455 locations, $11,093 average, $141,214,000, three weeks.

2. "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," Warner Bros., $26,510,000, 3,703 locations, $7,159 average, $136,514,000, three weeks.

3. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," Fox, $21,000,000, 3,724 locations, $5,639 average, $97,359,335, three weeks.

4. "War Horse," Disney, $19,219,000, 2,547 locations, $7,546 average, $45,248,000, two weeks.

5. "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," Sony, $19,000,000, 2,914 locations, $6,520 average, $60,011,000, two weeks.

--The Associated Press