The fourth installment of the Underworld franchise tried to bring the series back to it’s bread and butter, Kate Beckinsale in skin-tight leather. That was seemingly all you need as the film bounced back from the disappointing third installment and stands tall with a similar start to that of the first two movies.

The estimated twenty-five and a half million dollar haul puts Awakening on pace to top the over all totals of the first and third movies, whether or not it can catch the series peak, set by Evolution, will depend on it’s hold next weekend. The per theater average and total screen numbers are comparable to the second film which performed the best up to this point in the series.

Coming in at an impressive nineteen million is Red Tails, the Lucasfilm tale of the famed Tuskegee Airman. The movie surpassed many expectations and out paced other fighter pilot films by a solid margin. Much like Underworld: Awakening, the critical reception of Red Tails has not been kind, so it will need strong word of mouth to maintain momentum into next weekend.

The first holiday weekend of the year has come and the big winner was the tender stare of an underwear model. The new Mark Wahlberg actioner, Contraband, came in at number one this weekend with an estimated Twenty-Four million. The impressive total marks one of the highest openings ever for a Mark Wahlberg starring film, and ranks comparably with other January films of this genre.

Coming in at number two was the 3D re-release of the Disney classic Beauty and the Beast. The 3D version raked in eighteen and a half million, which is less than the recent re-release of The Lion King in 3D. Even though the dollars weren’t as good, the sum is still nice considering how long this has been sitting on the shelf. Disney is staying in the 3D reissue business with releases scheduled twice a year for the next few years.

In a number three is the recent box office champ Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, which continues to hold remarkably well. It brought in just over eleven million dollars and became the second highest grossing film in the Impossible franchise. This is a big win all around and looks to be a strong start Jeremy Renner’s assault on big budget franchise films.

Say what you will about Mark Wahlberg but his movies are often entertaining and he does know his way around an action sequence. Case in point is his latest upcoming film Contraband.

In the action thriller, which is based on the 2008 Icelandic film Reykjavic-Rotterdam, Wahlberg plays a security guard trying to go straight who must return to his old life of high-stakes smuggling to settle a family member’s debt with a ruthless former boss. Naturally, things don’t go exactly as planned and, you can bet, stuff ends up blowing up.

Starring with Wahlberg are Giovanni Ribisi, Kate Beckinsale, Lukas Haas and Ben Foster. Check out the trailer after the jump.

Look for Contraband to hit theaters early next year.

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