Tom Cruise's latest mission has won a holiday weekend that's shaping up with some silent nights at movie theaters as business continues to lag.

Studio estimates Sunday placed Cruise's "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" a solid No. 1 with $26.5 million domestically over its first weekend in full release. The movie raised its total to $59 million since it started a week earlier in huge-screen cinemas and expanded nationwide last Wednesday, and distributor Paramount estimated that revenues will reach $72.7 million by Monday.

Cruise's fourth "Mission" flick was a bright spot over a Christmas weekend filled with so-so tidings for Hollywood, whose usually busy holiday stretch since Thanksgiving has been a bust.

Generally well-reviewed movies from Steven Spielberg ("The Adventures of Tintin"), David Fincher ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo") and Cameron Crowe ("We Bought a Zoo") -- with casts that include Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson and Daniel Craig -- opened with modest to weak results.

Despite predictions from studio executives that 2011 could be a record-setter that would finish with a bang, domestic revenues remained stuck at a sluggish pace that has lingered all year.

Hollywood should finish the year with $10.1 billion domestically, down 4.5 percent from 2010, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

The picture gets worse taking into account higher ticket prices, which mean Hollywood brings in fewer fans for each dollar spent. Actual domestic attendance for 2011 will close out at about 1.27 billion, down 5.3 percent from the previous year's and the lowest head count since 1995, when admissions totaled 1.26 billion.

"Thank God 2011 is almost over, because we've had a real rough run here at the end of the year," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "We always count on the holiday season to give us a big boost at the end of the year, and it just didn't happen.

"These admission numbers this year just tell me that we maybe have to set our sights a little lower in terms of attendance every year."

Since peaking at a modern high of 1.6 billion in 2002, domestic movie admissions have been on a general decline since.

Studio executives always insist that slow times result from weak films, but on paper, the strong lineup Hollywood presented this year should have had fans lining up in huge numbers. Pretty good films are out there this holiday season, yet blockbuster expectations fizzled, a sign that people might be skipping a trip to the theater in favor of home-viewing, video games or the countless other entertainment options their gadgets now offer.

Rising ticket prices, particularly the extra few dollars it costs to see 3-D films, also could be causing a backlash among fans.

With "Ghost Protocol" climbing toward the $100 million mark, it's a return to box-office form for Cruise, who had been Hollywood's most-dependable earner for two decades until he turned off fans with odd antics in his personal life six years ago.

"Ghost Protocol" will be Cruise's first top-billed $100 million hit since 2006's "Mission: Impossible III." He had a supporting role in 2008's $100 million comedy hit "Tropic Thunder," which was headlined by Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black.

Even with a No. 1 debut, "Ghost Protocol" still was a shadow of its predecessors. The first three "Mission: Impossible" movies ranged from $45 million to $58 million over opening weekend, but those installments opened at the start of the busy summer season.

As of Friday, "Ghost Protocol" also had brought in a healthy $118 million overseas.

Downey's "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" fell from No., 1 to No. 2 in its second weekend with $17.8 million. The family sequel "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" dropped from second to third with $13.3 million.

Both sequels trail well behind the business their predecessors did. "A Game of Shadows," from Warner Bros., lifted its domestic haul to $76.6 million, while 20th Century Fox's "Chipwrecked" pushed its receipts to $50.3 million.

The weekend's newcomers failed to light up the box office, too. Fincher and Craig's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" from Sony was No. 4 with $13 million, Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin" from Paramount was No. 5 with $9.1 million and Crowe, Damon and Johansson's "We Bought a Zoo" from 20th Century Fox was No. 6 with $7.8 million.

"Dragon Tattoo" raised its total to $21.4 million since opening Tuesday night, while "Tintin" lifted its take to $17.1 million since debuting Wednesday.

European literary exports "Dragon Tattoo," adapted from Stieg Larsson's Swedish best-seller, and "Tintin," based on Belgian artist Herge's storybook classics, are finding a lukewarm reception among U.S. crowds.

"Dragon Tattoo" has been a sensation among U.S. readers yet failed to challenge "Mission: Impossible" and the other established franchises at the top of the box office.

Beloved by generations of readers overseas, "Tintin" launched internationally two months ahead of its U.S. release. But the blockbuster global attention, with nearly $250 million already in the bank from foreign markets, did not translate to crowds in the United States.

The calendar made it a tough weekend for Hollywood, with Christmas Eve -- always a slow night for movie-going -- falling on Saturday, usually the best day of the week at theaters.

Christmas Day typically is a strong one for movies, as fans squeeze in a film between unwrapping presents and sitting down to family dinners.

Two big holiday releases -- Spielberg's World War I epic "War Horse" and Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock's Sept. 11 drama "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" -- opened Christmas Day, but estimates on their revenues will not be available until Monday.

Singer Etta James has been hospitalized after experiencing trouble breathing, and her manager said the blues legend is “in pretty bad shape.”

Lupe De Leon, who has been James’ manager for 30 years, told The Associated Press that the singer was taken to a hospital in Southern California Wednesday evening and put on a breathing apparatus.

James’ family is with her at the hospital.

James, who has been suffering from chronic leukemia, is terminally ill, her doctor said.

Dr. Elaine James, who is unrelated to the singer and has been living with her since March 2010, is now asking James’ fans to pray for her.

“I am Southern and Christian and would just ask for the prayers of her fans and friends,” Elaine James said, according to the Press-Enterprise.

“They know she’s been sick, but not how sick,” Elaine James said.

According to court documents filed in a dispute between family members over the singer’s medical care, James also suffers from dementia and kidney failure.

The 73-year-old entertainer, who is most famous for the hit song “At Last,” has been under the 24-hour care of Elaine James since 2001, when the doctor was hired by the singer’s husband, Artis Mills.

In the 1960s and 1970s, James was in and out of rehab programs for a heroin addiction. In 1974, she spent 17 months in the hospital after she was arrested for drug possession and sentenced to drug treatment instead of prison time.

James was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and 2008. She has won six Grammy Awards and 17 Blues Music Awards, and was named number 22 on Rolling Stones’ 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Source:  abcnews.go.com

The actor and his wife, Grace Hightower, have welcomed a baby girl via surrogate, his rep confirmed to Gossip Cop and People. Baby Helen Grace weighed in at 7 lbs., 2 oz.

This is the second child for the couple, who wed in 1997. Son Elliot was born in March 18, 1998.

RELATED: Year in Review: Celebritots 2011

De Niro also has three adult children, including a son, Raphael, with former wife Diahnne Abbott, and twin sons, Julian Henry and Aaron Kendrick (also born via surrogate), with former model-girlfriend Toukie Smith.

In March, Raphael De Niro and his wife, Claudine DeMatos, had a second child, making De Niro a grandfather again.

Source:  msn.com

Prosecutors said Wednesday that John Terry, one of the country's best-known athletes, racially abused an opponent during an October match. Though the potential penalty — a $4,000 fine — is relatively small, the case throws soccer's decades-long struggle with racism onto a high-profile stage with deep ramifications for both the sport and Terry, who captains Chelsea and the English national team.

England has largely eradicated the abuse against black players that blighted the game here in the 1970s and '80s, but recent incidents have raised questions about how far the Premier League has to go. On Tuesday, Liverpool striker Luis Suarez received an eight-match ban and 40,000-pound ($62,000) fine from England's Football Association for racially abusing a Manchester United player during another match in October.

The sport's international governing body has a mixed record on the issue. FIFA has launched anti-racism campaigns but its president, Sepp Blatter, set off a wave of outrage last month by claiming that racist abuse does not exist on the soccer field and suggesting that any incidents could be settled by a handshake at the end of a match.

Prosecutors decided on Wednesday to charge Terry after studying video of him apparently hurling abuse at Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand toward the end of the Oct. 23 match, which was broadcast around the world. The video appears to show him yelling two obscenities and the word "black."

Prosecutors declared that Terry had committed a "racially aggravated public order offense."

Terry denies wrongdoing, though he doesn't deny saying the words after a verbal clash with Ferdinand. He said the words were taken out of context because he was repeating an accusation he felt had wrongly been made against him.

"I have never aimed a racist remark at anyone and count people from all races and creeds among my closest friends," Terry said. "I will fight tooth and nail to prove my innocence."

Ferdinand has not commented directly on the case, and the Football Association has yet to issue a ruling, saying it will wait for the police investigation to be completed. Police and prosecutors became involved after a member of the public made a complaint against the defender, having seen footage of his comments.

"After careful consideration of all the evidence I am satisfied there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and it is in the public interest to prosecute this case," Alison Saunders, the chief crown prosecutor for London, said in a statement.

Terry will have to appear at West London Magistrates' Court on Feb. 1 in a case that could threaten both his public image — worth millions in endorsements — and his international career.

If he is found guilty, it will be difficult for him to represent England at next summer's European Championship — especially since he often partners with Ferdinand's brother Rio in central defense. Terry already lost the England captaincy once, ahead of the 2010 World Cup, after being embroiled in a sex scandal, but he regained the armband this year.

Anti-racism campaigners are hailing prosecutors' announcement and the FA's punishment of Suarez as evidence that new weapons are being deployed against racism in soccer.

"It's a very important point in the history of campaigning against racism in football," said Herman Ouseley, chairman of the group Kick It Out. "People who are very cynical — and a lot of black footballers have been right up until I think yesterday — think it's a waste of time because the campaign hasn't stopped these things from happening. It goes on, it's quiet, it's subtle and nothing ever gets done.

"It's quite important that (players) now feel a bit more confident that, although it has taken a while, due process with decisive action could well make a change."

Suarez was found by an independent FA panel to have directed racist abuse at Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, who is black. However, unlike the Terry case, Suarez's abuse was not caught on camera and there has been no complaint to the police to trigger a criminal investigation.

Liverpool players issued a statement Wednesday saying they were "shocked and angered" by Suarez's punishment, and that they support their Uruguayan teammate. "We know he is not racist," they said.

England is far from alone in European soccer in having to combat discrimination. Most high-profile cases have involved abusive chants by fans against players, but there have been several on-field incidents as well.

The French soccer league has opened an inquiry after claims from Morocco midfielder Kamel Chafni that an assistant referee racially insulted him during Auxerre's 1-0 defeat at Brest on Saturday.

Bulgaria's national federation was fined euro40,000 (about $52,000) by UEFA after its fans directed racist abuse at England players during a Euro 2012 qualifying match in September.

But Luis Aragones held onto his job as Spain coach in 2005 after making racist remarks about French striker Thierry Henry, landing a fine of just euro3,000 ($3,900).

"I think the problem has never gone away — it's just become more subtle and less obvious," said Ouseley, a member of the House of Lords. "I think there is an awareness that more has to be done."

Ouseley pointed out that Poland and Ukraine, the co-hosts of Euro 2012, have also had problems with racism in the past, and that next summer's tournament will be a good indicator of whether they and other countries are taking the matter seriously.

"We know from the reports we've had back (that) there are going to be problems there," Ouseley said. "They will make the right noises but will they do they right thing? Will they stop abuse?"

Source:  ap