Christmas week is usually the biggest for movie releases. Studios try to put out their best work and compete hard with each other for the movie-goer’s cash.

Last week’s entrants Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked took the top 2 spots, but were not nearly as successful as their predecessors.

The number 3 spot went to Mission Impossible 4, but it was arguably the most successful. It raked in a solid average of $30,083 per theater  (it was only playing in 425 locations).

This will be the movie to watch as it expands to a wider national release today.

Two more movies are entering the game today. One will start playing Friday, and another two will open Christmas day. With 8 movies opening in time for the holiday rush, it will be interesting to see who will be the ultimate winner.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

This is possibly the most anticipated, talked about film of the holiday season. Some are insanely excited ( like we are), and some are just annoyed that Hollywood felt the need to remake a perfectly great foreign film for the sake of no subtitles.

David Fincher (The Social Network, Fight Club) seems like the perfect director to present this story though and he claims that it is not so much a remake as a separate adaptation of the novel.

We’ve heard it might even be closer to the source material than the Swedish film.

Rooney Mara seems to fully commit to her role, and Daniel Craig is always pretty great. We’re excited for another Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross collaborated score (the two won an Oscar for The Social Network last year). And, come on–”the feel bad movie of Christmas” is possibly the coolest tagline ever.

The Adventures of Tintin

This Steven Spielberg-directed, Peter Jackson-produced  power house of a film is already an insane hit in the UK, and seems likely to be one of the top animated movies this year.

The writing staff is quite impressive with the amazing Edgar Wright (Shaun of The Dead, etc), Joe Cornish (Attack the Block), and Steven Moffat (Doctor Who) teaming up on the script based on the popular European comic books.

It has already has a $200 million cushion from the foreign box office. We just hope that it is able to surpass the new Alvin & the Chipmunks movie in the US.

What do you plan to see now that final exams are about done and winter break is about started? Let us know what you thought about any films you’ve been watching lately!