'Sherlock Holmes' dominates box office
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" with Robert Downey Jr. debuted at No. 1 at the box office this weekend with more than $40 million in gross U.S. receipts.
"Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" and "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" opened at No. 2 and No. 3 with $23.5 million and $13 million, respectively.
The three new films pushed the ensemble cast "New Year's Eve" from No. 1 to No. 4 for the weekend at $7.4 million.
"The Sitter," with Jonah Hill, fell one spot to No. 5 with $4.4 million.
All studio estimates of gross U.S. box office receipts are via Box Office Mojo.
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1," dropped to No. 6 with $4.3 million; "Young Adult" starring Charlize Theron was No. 7 with $3.7 million; "Hugo" No. 8 with $3.6 million; and "Arthur Christmas" was No. 9 with $3.6 million.
"The Muppets" rounded out the Top 10 with $3.5 million.
Last Michael Jackson home items auctioned
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A California auctioneer said buyers had 524 items to choose from at an auction of furniture from the home where pop star Michael Jackson died in 2009.
Two paintings that fetched five-figure sale prices were the most-expensive items to sell at the auction in Beverly Hills Saturday.
The auction was largely made up of fairly ordinary furniture and household goods from the rented mansion that Jackson did not actually own. CNN Sunday said the sale was not even billed as being related to Michael Jackson, however, the address of the lot was familiar enough to run up the bidding.
By Saturday evening, the most-expensive items sold were a $35,200 watercolor still life by Maurice Utrillo and a $46,875 oil painting by Adelsteen Normann.
Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien's Auctions, told the network the items would ordinarily bring in about $400,000, however, the link to Jackson and his untimely death meant "the sky's the limit."
CNN said other items on the block included the nightstand from Jackson's bedroom and an armoire with the inspirational message, "Train, perfection March April Full out May," which Jackson wrote on the mirror as he ramped up for what would have been his comeback world tour.
Singer recovering after fall at NYC's Met
NEW YORK, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Officials at New York's Metropolitan Opera say mezzo-soprano Wendy White was recovering Sunday from an 8-foot fall during a performance.
White was taken to a Manhattan hospital Saturday night after tumbling from a platform above the famed Met stage while singing the role of Marthe in "Faust."
A spokesman for the Met said a hinge connecting the platform to a stairway broke, causing the fall. The official said White did not appear to be seriously hurt but underwent a series of late-night tests at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center a short distance away.
As for the opera itself, the show went on where it had left off about a half-hour later with understudy Theodora Hanslowe coming off the bench to take White's place.
Jack Johnson connects with Boston patient
BOSTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Singer Jack Johnson's Internet performance for a 6-year-old Boston hospital patient struck a chord with the youngster, the boy's parents said.
Johnson took to Skype this weekend to chat and play a few numbers for Ethan Lindberg, a young fan stuck in Children's Hospital Boston over the holidays for yet another round of treatment for a rare genetic heart defect.
Ethan's mother, Jessica Lindberg, told the Boston Herald her son is a fan of laid-back music, particularly Bob Marley, Raffi, and Johnson.
"Ever since he was a baby -- he's had six heart surgeries, and the first was when he was five days old -- he's just always been drawn to it," Lindberg said. "Music has been that thing for him, to draw him out of fear."
Johnson, who connected with Ethan from Santa Barbara, Calif., played a handful of his own tunes and strummed out an acoustic-guitar version of "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" that had Ethan singing along.
"I could hear you sing along," Johnson told Ethan. "You know the words. That's really cool."
