AVATAR Smashes More Records In Its 6th Weekend Atop The Box Office
Avatar won the weekend yet again, pulling in $34.9 million for its sixth consecutive first-place finish at the box office and bringing its domestic total to $551.7 million.
Avatar has now passed The Dark Knight’s $533.3 million domestic total to become the second-highest grossing movie of all time. However, with James Cameron’s latest still chugging along healthily at the theaters, Avatar should exceed Titanic’s $600.8 million total in a matter of weeks. Overseas, Avatar has already accomplished that, its foreign total of $1.29 billion over $50 million more than Titanic’s previous biggest foreign gross record of $1.24 billion. With its worldwide gross now at $1.838 billion, Avatar is only a hair’s breadth away from Titanic’s all-time worldwide record of $1.843 bilion. So, expect history to be made soon.
Meanwhile, the rest of the domestic field had a so-so outing. The angel-themed apocalyptic thriller Legion bowed in the number 2 spot with a healthy but average $17.5 million, while The Book of Eli held on to 3rd place with $15.7 million in its second weekend. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s family comedy The Tooth Fairy opened in 4th place with $14 million, considerably less than the debut of his other family fare. Extraordinary Measures, the other new wide release, fell flat as it opened in 8th place with a disappointing $6 million. The Lovely Bones rounded out the top 5 with an $8.4 million weekend.
Next week, Mel Gibson returns to theaters in his first starring role since 2002’s Signs with Edge of Darkness, which may actually have a chance at unseating Avatar. Gibson will contend with Kristen Bell’s new romantic comedy When in Rome, and I think he’ll come out on top. He’s done enough movie star rehab for audiences to have forgiven him for his past misconduct, and plus Edge of Darkness just looks pretty damn good. The record stands at 5 for 9.
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 | $34,944,081 | -18.3% | 3,141 | -144 | $11,125 | $551,741,499 | - | 6 |
| 2 | N | Legion (2010) | SGem | $17,501,625 | - | 2,476 | - | $7,069 | $17,501,625 | $26 | 1 |
| 3 | 2 | The Book of Eli | WB | $15,732,493 | -52.0% | 3,111 | - | $5,057 | $60,735,686 | $80 | 2 |
| 4 | N | The Tooth Fairy | Fox | $14,010,409 | - | 3,344 | - | $4,190 | $14,010,409 | $48 | 1 |
| 5 | 3 | The Lovely Bones | P/DW | $8,418,192 | -50.5% | 2,571 | +8 | $3,274 | $31,242,633 | $65 | 7 |
| 6 | 5 | Sherlock Holmes | WB | $6,628,069 | -33.0% | 2,670 | -503 | $2,482 | $191,076,852 | $90 | 5 |
| 7 | 4 | Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel | Fox | $6,403,504 | -44.9% | 2,973 | -323 | $2,154 | $204,140,348 | $75 | 5 |
| 8 | N | Extraordinary Measures | CBS | $6,012,594 | - | 2,549 | - | $2,359 | $6,012,594 | $31 | 1 |
| 9 | 7 | It’s Complicated | Uni. | $5,810,025 | -28.4% | 2,301 | -369 | $2,525 | $98,270,085 | $85 | 5 |
| 10 | 6 | The Spy Next Door | LGF | $4,584,524 | -52.9% | 2,924 | - | $1,568 | $18,544,619 | - | 2 |
| 11 | 9 | The Blind Side | WB | $4,166,136 | -25.0% | 1,932 | -476 | $2,156 | $233,678,402 | $29 | 10 |
| 12 | 10 | Up in the Air | Par. | $3,902,190 | -28.3% | 1,707 | -400 | $2,286 | $69,245,369 | $25 | 8 |
Tags: Avatar, Box Office, Edge of Darkness, Extraordinary Measures, Legion, The Book of Eli, The Lovely Bones, The Tooth Fairy, When In Rome
