AVATAR Is #1 Four Weeks In A Row At The Box Office
There’s just no stopping James Cameron. Avatar once again topped the box office in its fourth month of release with a $50.3 million weekend, showing only the slightest signs of slowing in the post-holiday frame. It set the mark for biggest fourth weekend gross, handily unseating the record previously held by Titanic’s $28.7 million.
Avatar’s domestic total now sits at $430.8 million, becoming the second-fastest to $400 million behind only The Dark Knight. It also officially became the highest grossing film released in 2009, besting Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’s $402.1 million mark. Internationally, Avatar performed even better than last week thanks to a record-setting opening in China that saw it claim both opening week and single day records. Its $150.5 million international haul brings its foreign total to $910.8 million, and paired with its domestic gross, Avatar now has a spectacular worldwide tally of $1.34 billion. That’s still $500 million shy of Titanic’s $1.84 billion all time mark, but Avatar is certainly making it seem at least feasible that a succession could happen.
Back in the domestic picture, Sherlock Holmes and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel continued their dead heat for next place, bringing in $16.59 million and $16.57 million, respectively, for a 2nd-3rd place photo finish. Daybreakers debuted in 4th place with a so-so $15.1 million, though the other two new wide releases struggled out of the gate. Leap Year came in 6th place with $9.2 million while Youth In Revolt limped to a 9th place finish with $6.9 million. It’s Complicated rounded out the top 5 with an $11 million take.
Next week, Denzel Washington will try to unseat the reigning champ with his The Book of Eli, while Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones expands nationwide. The Spy Next Door, Jackie Chan’s fairly-awful looking family adventure-comedy, also goes wide. Fish Tank, the acclaimed British indie, opens in limited release. I expect Eli to finish ahead of the pack, though it may not be able to overcome the staying power of Avatar. The Lovely Bones should come in second, with The Spy Next Door bringing up the rear. The new year record is 1 for 3.
Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:
New releases highlighted in yellow
| TW | LW | Title (click to view) | Studio | Weekend Gross | % Change | Theater Count / Change | Average | Total Gross | Budget* | Week # | |
| 1 | 1 | Avatar | Fox | $50,306,217 | -26.6% | 3,422 | -39 | $14,701 | $430,846,514 | - | 4 |
| 2 | 2 | Sherlock Holmes | WB | $16,585,327 | -54.7% | 3,626 | - | $4,574 | $165,153,093 | $90 | 3 |
| 3 | 3 | Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel | Fox | $16,566,489 | -52.9% | 3,641 | -106 | $4,550 | $178,451,165 | $75 | 3 |
| 4 | N | Daybreakers | LGF | $15,146,692 | - | 2,523 | - | $6,003 | $15,146,692 | $20 | 1 |
| 5 | 4 | It’s Complicated | Uni. | $11,007,875 | -41.5% | 2,955 | +58 | $3,725 | $76,370,540 | $85 | 3 |
| 6 | N | Leap Year | Uni. | $9,202,815 | - | 2,511 | - | $3,665 | $9,202,815 | $19 | 1 |
| 7 | 5 | The Blind Side | WB | $7,531,467 | -36.8% | 2,880 | -46 | $2,615 | $218,978,376 | $29 | 8 |
| 8 | 6 | Up in the Air | Par. | $7,159,294 | -33.2% | 2,218 | +323 | $3,228 | $54,800,688 | $25 | 6 |
| 9 | N | Youth in Revolt | W/Dim. | $6,888,334 | - | 1,873 | - | $3,678 | $6,888,334 | $18 | 1 |
| 10 | 7 | The Princess and the Frog | BV | $4,651,156 | -52.7% | 2,620 | -708 | $1,775 | $92,546,727 | $105 | 7 |
| 11 | 9 | Invictus | WB | $1,722,246 | -55.9% | 1,340 | -830 | $1,285 | $33,506,889 | $60 | 5 |
| 12 | 11 | The Twilight Saga: New Moon | Sum. | $1,703,809 | -50.5% | 1,167 | -460 | $1,460 | $290,743,279 | $50 | 8 |
Tags: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Avatar, Box Office, Daybreakers, It's Complicated, Leap Year, Sherlock Holmes, The Book of Eli, The Lovely Bones, The Spy Next Door, Youth in Revolt
