(Image Source: Warner Bros.)

BY LAUREN ZIMA

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows opened nationwide this weekend to $40 million. NY1 has the details.

ANCHOR: “Sherlock Holmes was a crowd pleaser this weekend.”
JUDE LAW: “How I’ve missed you, Holmes.”
ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: “Have you? I barely noticed your absence.”
ANCHOR: “The sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, was the top box office draw on an otherwise slow weekend. The Robert Downey Jr. action flick uncovered $40 million in its first week of release, but that’s about $20 million less than the first movie’s debut.”

But can the movie really be called a crowd-pleaser? Media outlets are interpreting the box office take differently, with entertainment industry trades calling it a disappointment. Deadline Hollywood says it’s part of a growing trend in slacking sequels.

“Audiences keep rejecting Hollywood’s sequels and threequels. … Execs are hoping to make up the difference [for ‘Sherlock’] before year’s end. But more pics will open, too, creating clutter. So if this weekend’s low grosses continue, then the domestic box office slump may very well ruin Christmas for Hollywood.”

The New York Daily News calls the overall low ticket sales the, quote, “Mystery of the Missing Moviegoer,” and notes the difference between this year and last.

“The weekend box office haul … was 12% lower than this time in 2010, causing a lot of handwringing in an industry that’s seen an overall dip of four percent over the year …  “

And The Los Angeles Times notes more big-budget films, are on the way -- but says the latest numbers make their futures even more uncertain.

“The weekend's overall lackluster results … may be a red flag for the moviegoing period over the Christmas holiday. With a handful of expensive, highly anticipated films hitting theaters in the next two weeks -- including … "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" -- studios are banking on strong end-of-year ticket sales to help turn around what has been a underwhelming 2011 at the box office.”

But is there still time for a Christmas miracle -- from Tom Cruise, of all people? The fourth Mission Impossible movie -- Ghost Protocol -- also opened this weekend, and E! Online reports the movie ...

“ … which opened in limited release on 425 screens, most of them IMAX, easily delivered the weekend's biggest bang. Ghost Protocol's fantastic per-screen average of  nearly $31,000 translated into a $13 million Friday-Sunday take, enough to outearn films playing on thousands more screens … “