'Mission: Impossible' tops New Year's box office 'Mission: Impossible' tops New Year's box office - Movies The TODAY team updated 38 minutes ago Movies Film is expected to surpass 'Sherlock' as top-earning movie of the month Tom Cruise is still riding high at the box office. The fourth installment in his "Mission: Impossible" film franchise, "Ghost Protocol," topped the three-day New Year's weekend box office with an estimated $31.3 million gross according to early Sunday totals. PHOTOS: Tom's romance with wife Katie Holmes Having debuted Dec. 21, the action flick is expected to surpass "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" as the top-grossing December 2011 film. Indeed, "Sherlock Holmes" finished out the year strong, earning $22.1 million during the holiday haul. The animated sequel "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" settled comfortably into this weekend's third place spot, raking in $18.3 million in receipts from family-friendly moviegoers. PHOTOS: The year's best family-friendly flicks Rounding out the New Year's Eve weekend top five were "War Horse" ($16.94 million) and the Rooney Mara based-on-the-book pic "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," which earned $16.8 million. PHOTOS: Rooney Mara's style transformation Final three-day totals will be released on Tuesday. Copyright 2012 Us Weekly Related slideshow January movies More from Movies Nominees for the 69th Golden Globe Awards 'The Help' tops SAG honors with 4 nominations Screen Actors Guild Awards nominees list Remembering more than a week with Marilyn Jolie film gets 'OK' from Bosnian war victims People Entertainment Food Money Tech Books Pets Parenting Style allDAY Kathie Lee & Hoda # back to top