MUMBAI: The $1 million The Devil Inside roped in $34.5 million clinced the No. 1 position, according to studio estimates. The collections helped propel the first full weekend of 2012 nearly 30 per cent ahead of the same weekend last year.

The no-name horror film overtook big-name holdovers. About 19 per cent of audiences gave the film an F, according to survey firm CinemaScore.

According to amalgam site Rottentomatoes.com, only 57 per cent of audiences said they enjoyed the movie, a low score considering that paying audiences rarely score a movie below 60 per cent. On the other hand, only 7 per cent critics gave the picture a thumbs-up.

Devil supplanted Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol from its two-week perch at No. 1. The Tom Cruise sequel took second place with $20.5 million that lifted its total to $170.2 million.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was third with $14.1 million, followed by David Fincher‘s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo with $11.3 million. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked stayed on the top 5 with an intake of $9.5 million. The film has, till yet, done a business of $111.6 million.