‘Contraband’ and ‘Joyful Noise’ expected to top the box office on Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend

This weekend is another long one for Hollywood thanks to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday. There are two major releases hitting theaters, Mark Wahlberg’s Contraband and Joyful Noise with Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton. The two films are expected to top the weekend, overcoming The Devil Inside and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.

The Associated Press predicts that Joyful Noise, released by Warner Bros., will come in first with $20 million. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film was financially backed under Warner Bros.’ Alcon Entertainment label, which also produced The Blind Side. Joyful Noise only cost $30 million to make.

Contraband, a remake of the Icelandic film, Reykjavík-Rotterdam, cost Universal $25 million to make and is expected to make $15 million to $18 million. However, Entertainment Weekly predicts that the film could top the box office with $20 million as people look for another action movie besides Mission: Impossible.

Disney is also re-releasing its 1991 hit, Beauty and the Beast, the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture, into theaters in 3D. The Hollywood Reporter predicts that the film will not be as successful as The Lion King re-issue, which made a stunning $30 million in its opening weekend. Still, the film should make at least $15 million to $18 million as well. Unlike The Lion King, which hit theaters at the same moment the Blu-ray came out, Beauty has been available on Blu-ray for almost two years and was released on 3D Blu-ray last year.

Mission: Impossible is likely to come in fourth, adding to its $174 million domestic gross already.

Meanwhile, The Devil Inside is expected to take a steep tumble from its surprising $33.7 million opening weekend showing to fifth place. The film might make at least $11 million.

Meryl Streep’s The Iron Lady expands to a little over 800 theaters this weekend.