LOS ANGELES -- Sherlock Holmes is facing his worst enemy: declining crowds at theaters, as this year's domestic movie attendance dips to the lowest in 16 years.
After two previous weekends that were Hollywood's worst of the year, overall business was down again, about 12 percent lower than the same weekend in 2010, as Hollywood struggles to interest audiences in its big year-end releases.
That would be the lowest attendance since 1995, when admissions totaled 1.26 billion. Domestic attendance in modern times peaked at 1.6 billion in 2002 and has generally been on a decline since.
Tom Cruise and Paramount had a spot of good news. Their action sequel "Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol" got off to a healthy start at No. 3 with a $13 million weekend playing exclusively at huge-screen IMAX theaters and some other large-format cinemas.
Hollywood still can go out with a bang. Along with the new "Mission: Impossible," the holidays bring two more big thrillers  Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin" and David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"  along with Spielberg's historical epic "War Horse" and Cameron Crowe and Matt Damon's family-friendly comic drama "We Bought a Zoo."
3. "Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol," $13 million ($68.2 million international).
6. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn  Part 1," $4.3 million.