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The third weekend of UnderworldL Awakening is in fifth, as it takes an expected tumble down the top ten ranks. This weekend the four-quel earned $5.6 million and dropped 55% compared to the $12.4 million gross it earned last weekend. The $70 million Screen Gems release has now earned $54.4 million stateside, but that is joined now by a $40 million plus take from overseas screens. This Underworld appears to be headed for the largest domestic gross from the series so far, as it tries to catch Underworld: Evolution, which brought in $62.3 million.

Sixth is One For the Money, the Katherine Heigl pic that stumbled into third last weekend with $11.5 million. This weekend, the comedy drops three spots, and the Lionsgate effort pulls in $5.2 million. That gives One for the Money a 54% drop compared to last weekend, and what I can only hope will be a quick exit from the top ten. One For the Money has a gross so far of $19.7 million.

That puts Red Tails in seventh, as the George Lucas release finds little traction at the North American box office. Red Tails earned only $5 million in its third weekend, and dropped 52% compared to last weekend. Red Tails cost Lucas $58 million to make, and it has a gross so far of $41.3 million.

Eighth is The Descendants, the five time Oscar nominated release. After re-expanding nicely last weekend, The Descendants dipped somewhat this weekend, but continues to roll. The George Clooney film earned $4.6 million this weekend – its 12th weekend in release – and drops 28%. The Alexander Payne film has now earned a fantastic $65.5 million.

Thus, that means Man on a Ledge is in ninth, as it becomes a big miss for Summit Entertainment. Man on a Ledge earned $4.5 million after debuting to only $8 million last weekend. That's a drop of 44% for the $42 million Sam Worthington flick, which will be lucky to earn $30 million.

Our tenth place finisher is Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, the surprise Best Picture Oscar nominee that continues to hold up well in wide release. The Tom Hanks/Sandra Bullock film earned another $3.9 million over the weekend, down 44% from the previous frame. Thus far, the Warner Bros. release has earned $26.8 million.

Overall this weekend, the box office remains hot compared to a year ago. Over Super Bowl weekend in 2011, The Roommate led the box office with $15 million as the top 12 only earned $73 million. This year, things were much better, as the top 12 bought in a much healthier $97.6 million. Next weekend brings a sequel to the Journey to the Center of the Earth called Journey 2, this time with The Rock instead of Brendan Fraser, Safe House with Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, The Vow with Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum, and finally Star Wars: The Phanton Menace, this time in 3D. Too bad the Super Bowl wasn't next weekend.

Top Weekend Box Office for 2/3/12-2/5/12 (Estimates)
Rank	Film	Distributor	Estimated Gross	Weekly Change	Running Total
1	Chronicle	Fox	$22,000,000	New	$22,000,000
2	The Woman In Black	Cbs Films	$21,000,000	New	$21,000,000
3	The Grey	Open Road Films	$9,500,000	- 52%	$34,756,533
4	Big Miracle	Universal	$8,484,065	New	$8,484,065
5	Underworld: Awakening	SONY	$5,600,000	- 55%	$54,353,000
6	One for the Money	Lionsgate	$5,250,000	- 54%	$19,667,987
7	Red Tails	Twentieth Century Fox	$5,000,000	- 52%	$41,323,458
8	The Descendants	Fox Searchlight	$4,600,000	- 28%	$65,522,652
9	Man on a Ledge	Summit Entertainment	$4,460,000	- 44%	$14,724,774
10	Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close	WARNER BROS.	$3,925,000	- 44%	$26,793,000
11	Contraband	Universal	$3,490,135	- 48%	$62,103,435
12	The Artist	The Weinstein Company	$2,565,000	- 23%	$20,584,244
	Also Opening/Notables
	W.E.	The Weinstein Company	$45,000	New	$45,000
	The Innkeepers	Magnolia	$30,000	New	$30,000
	Albert Nobbs	Roadside Attractions	$475,000	- 32%	$1,525,000
	An Inconsistent Truth	Rocky Mountain Pictures	$12,296	- 41%	$36,559
	Haywire	Relativity Media	$1,214,000	- 70%	$17,858,904
	Beauty And the Beast 3d	WALT DISNEY	$2,489,000	- 53%	$44,818,000
	Joyful Noise	WARNER BROS.	$1,445,000	- 55%	$28,950,000
	The Iron Lady	The Weinstein Company	$1,843,000	- 42%	$20,600,349
	A Separation	Sony Pictures Classics	$324,293	+ 2%	$1,302,741
	The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo	SONY	$1,025,000	- 53%	$99,900,000
	War Horse	Walt Disney Pictures	$919,000	- 54%	$77,252,000
	Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol	Paramount	$1,710,000	- 51%	$205,208,000
	Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows	Warner Bros.	$1,040,000	- 58%	$183,900,000
	Hugo	Paramount	$2,310,000	- 8%	$61,949,000
Box office data supplied by Exhibitor Relations

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