Celebrity Column: Taylor Swift joins Civil Wars for 'Hunger Games' song

When we spoke with her in October, Joy Williams of the Civil Wars couldnt give us details on the song the Nashville duo and producer T Bone Burnett had cooked up for a major motion picture. But now the secrets out, and it turns out that a third party was involved, too: Taylor Swift.

The country-pop superstar and rising folk/pop duo teamed to record Safe & Sound for the highly anticipated Hunger Games film, set to hit theaters in March. Swift tweeted the news to her followers late last week.

Musically speaking, the songs a pretty successful marriage of styles the Wars melancholy folk matched with a gentle melody thats undeniably Swifts (and at points gives us flashbacks of her Enchanted and Speak Now.)

The song is available for purchase on iTunes.

DAVE PAULSON, THE TENNESSEAN

Aretha Franklin's Christmas features Four Tops

DETROIT -- Detroits Queen of Soul knows how to throw a Christmas party, and she welcomed in the holiday with glitter, a jazzy musical backdrop and a finale of Silent Night with the Four Tops. Aretha Franklin held her annual Christmas party on Friday at the Detroit Athletic Club, greeting guests in a teal blue gown accented with a silver sequined bodice.

The Detroit News reports that Franklin exchanged gifts with family and friends as Ursula Walker, Buddy Budson, Mar! ian Hayd en and Gayelynn McKinney played jazz in the background.

During a meal of filet mignon and salmon, guests were entertained by performances by Gwen & Charles Scales and Franklins son Eddie Franklin, who sang Some Enchanted Evening.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

'Mission' accomplishes holiday box-office win

LOS ANGELES -- Hollywood has picked up a little Christmas bonus.

Studios generally underestimated the size of their movie audiences over the weekend, and theyre now revising the holiday revenues upward.

Leading the way is Tom Cruises Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, which pulled in $29.5 million for the weekend. That Monday figure is $3 million more than distributor Paramount estimated a day earlier.

For the four-day period Friday to Monday, Paramount estimates Ghost Protocol will have taken in $46.2 million to raise its domestic total to $78.6 million. Thats on top of $140 million the film has taken in overseas, giving it a worldwide haul of $218.6 million.

Studios Monday also reported stronger results than they did a day earlier for Robert Downey Jr.s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, which was No. 2 at $20.3 million for the three-day weekend and $31.8 million for the four-day period; Steven Spielbergs The Adventures of Tintin at No. 5 with $9.7 million over three days and $16.1 million for four days; and Matt Damons We Bought a Zoo at No. 6 with $9.5 million over three days and $15.6 million for four days.

In a tight race for the No. 4 spot were Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked ($20 million over four days) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ($19.4 million over four days).

ASSOCIATED PRESS