Is everyone back up to speed after the holidays? I’m not sure I am, but then I feel like I’ve been playing catch-up since the middle of last month, so that’s nothing new.

I will say it’s been nice of the box-office to perk back up after that dour Christmas weekend, getting its legs back as the “Mission: Impossible” and “Sherlock Holmes” sequels kept pulling people into the megaplexes.

“Ghost Protocol” remained on top with a gross of $38.3 million, building on its previous $26.5 million weekend, for a total domestic take of $141.2 million, which is pretty good considering it opened in the slowest December anyone could remember. “A Game of Shadows” pulled in $26.5 million this weekend, for a total of $136.5 million at the  North American box office.  And the “Alvin and the Chipmunks” threequel remained in third place with $21 million, which just makes me sad.

That’s pretty much everything I have to report. Unless Fidel Castro really is dead, in which case you’ll have already heard that news from far more credible sources.