In terms of American box office, January has long since evolved from a dumping ground where unwanted to studio projects are thrown to die to a slightly treacherous piece of real estate where certain movies and, more specifically, genres can flourish. Horror seems to be able to break out and the latest success story – financially, at least – is Paramount’s low-budget thriller The Devil Inside. The horror, which was produced for a thrifty $1 million, scored $34.5m at the box office across the pond. But we put that proviso in there for a reason – it also scored dreadful reactions from cinemagoers who actually booed the ending, and may well fall off significantly in its second week. Still, it’s already in profit, so the studio bean counters will be happy.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol continued to hoover in the cash the way Tom Cruise climbs buildings. It dropped to second place but still made $20.5 million. Sherlock Holmes: Game Of Shadows was third and took in $14 million. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo showed staying power as it clung on to fourth with $11.3 million and watched Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked take a tumble to fifth and $9.5 million.

War Horse was sixth with $8.6 million, We Bought A Zoo held decently, sinking to seventh with $8.4 million. At eighth, Tintin made $6.6 million, while Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy surged up the charts thanks to adding a batch of new screens and notched up $5.7 million. Finally, New Year’s Eve continued its fall down the charts, earning $3.2 million.