The latest collaboration between Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio bested The Departed's $26.9 million opening, and set DiCaprio's best opening weekend numbers as well. The horror-thriller was the lone new wide release at the box office this weekend, which definitely helped it reach the top spot, but it also got a boost from the predictable tanking of last weekend's holdovers. Valentine's Day bled over 70% to 2nd place with $16.7 million, while Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief and The Wolfman fell to 4th and 5th place with $15.3 million and $9.9 million, respectively. Avatar, now in its 10th weekend of release, held on to 3rd place with $16.2 million, and its $688 million domestic total will almost certainly cross the $700 million mark in the coming weeks.

The most worrisome news if for Wolfman, one of Universal's most prized icons and, with a low-ball budget of $150 million, its $50.4 million total gross isn't very encouraging. The studio is still moving forward with reboots/re-imaginings of several of its classic horror icons, and as a fan, I certainly hope they fare better.]]>

Shutter Island set a new personal best opening for director Martin Scorsese over the weekend, scaring up $41.1 million at the box office.

The latest collaboration between Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio bested The Departed’s $26.9 million opening, and set DiCaprio’s best opening weekend numbers as well. The horror-thriller was the lone new wide release at the box office this weekend, which definitely helped it reach the top spot, but it also got a boost from the predictable tanking of last weekend’s holdovers. Valentine’s Day bled over 70% to 2nd place with $16.7 million, while Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief and The Wolfman fell to 4th and 5th place with $15.3 million and $9.9 million, respectively. Avatar, now in its 10th weekend of release, held on to 3rd place with $16.2 million, and its $688 million domestic total will almost certainly cross the $700 million mark in the coming weeks.

The most worrisome news if for Wolfman, one of Universal’s most prized icons and, with a low-ball budget of $150 million, its $50.4 million total gross isn’t very encouraging. The studio is still moving forward with reboots/re-imaginings of several of its classic horror icons, and as a fan, I certainly hope they fare better.

The Ghost Writer, Roman Polanski’s latest film starring Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, and Kim Cattrall, opened in limited release with $183,009 across 4 theaters, or a solid $45,752 per-theater average.

Next week, Kevin Smith’s cop comedy Cop Out and horror remake The Crazies will hit theaters. The latter has definitely been getting stronger reviews, but the star power of Bruce Willis and Tracey Morgan, as well as the broad comedic appeal of the TV spots, should put Cop Out in front. The record remains at 10 for 16.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow:

Including the Monday holiday, its four day total of $63.1 million led the charge as a trio of new releases helped make this the highest-grossing February weekend ever. The Wolfman narrowly edged out Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief with a $31.5 million 3-day total, just in front of Percy Jackson's $31.2 million, but the four day totals put Percy Jackson well ahead of the horror icon revival. Chris Columbus' latest hauled in $38.7 million against The Wolfman's $35.6 million over the full holiday frame, thanks to a decidedly strong Monday for the kid-friendly pic. Meanwhile, Avatar may have fallen to 4th, but it certainly didn't slow down as it hauled in another $28.8 million over the four days. Dear John rounded out the top 5 with $18.2 million.]]>

I guess a parade of famous actors and a timely holiday release is all you need to shatter records these days. Valentine’s Day became the biggest Presidents’ Day weekend release with its $56.3 million first place debut.

Including the Monday holiday, its four day total of $63.1 million led the charge as a trio of new releases helped make this the highest-grossing February weekend ever. The Wolfman narrowly edged out Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief with a $31.5 million 3-day total, just in front of Percy Jackson’s $31.2 million, but the four day totals put Percy Jackson well ahead of the horror icon revival. Chris Columbus’ latest hauled in $38.7 million against The Wolfman’s $35.6 million over the full holiday frame, thanks to a decidedly strong Monday for the kid-friendly pic. Meanwhile, Avatar may have fallen to 4th, but it certainly didn’t slow down as it hauled in another $28.8 million over the four days. Dear John rounded out the top 5 with $18.2 million.

Next week, Shutter Island is all alone at the box office, at least for wide releases. Roman Polanski’s latest film The Ghost Writer hits in limited release. The record stands at 10 for 16.

Check out the top 12 for the 3-day weekend below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

Avatar came in second with a solid $22.9 million, but Dear John's counter-programming on Super Bowl weekend worked wonders as its 84% female audience breakdown led it to become the second-highest grossing Super Bowl opening ever, behind only the Hannah Montana concert film. Meanwhile, James Cameron's latest declined by a mere 27% to bring its domestic total to $629.3 million (its worldwide total is north of $2.2 billion, by the way), so I don't think anyone's worried about this particular coup.

From Paris with Love proved a little too crazy for most audiences, coming in 3rd with an underwhelming $8.2 million. Edge of Darkness plummeted 60% in its second weekend, falling to 4th place with $6.9 million and bringing its total to $28.9 million in 10 days. Tooth Fairy rounded out the top 5 with $6.6 million.]]>

Finally, in its 8th weekend of release, Avatar was knocked from its perch atop the box office by Dear John’s surprising $30.5 million opening.

Avatar came in second with a solid $22.9 million, but Dear John’s counter-programming on Super Bowl weekend worked wonders as its 84% female audience breakdown led it to become the second-highest grossing Super Bowl opening ever, behind only the Hannah Montana concert film. Meanwhile, James Cameron’s latest declined by a mere 27% to bring its domestic total to $629.3 million (its worldwide total is north of $2.2 billion, by the way), so I don’t think anyone’s worried about this particular coup.

From Paris with Love proved a little too crazy for most audiences, coming in 3rd with an underwhelming $8.2 million. Edge of Darkness plummeted 60% in its second weekend, falling to 4th place with $6.9 million and bringing its total to $28.9 million in 10 days. Tooth Fairy rounded out the top 5 with $6.6 million.

The ambitious British crime thriller Red Riding Trilogy opened in limited release with a decent $14,526 haul across 1 venue. Much-buzzed about indie horror film Frozen also bowed at 106 screens to the tune of $131,395, or a much more disappointing $1,240 per-theater average.

Next week, a trio of high-profile releases will jostle for position at the box office. Chris Columbus’ next children’s fantasy epic Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief will compete with an A-list ensemble in the timely Valentine’s Day, as well as with Universal’s much-anticipated horror icon relaunch, The Wolfman. Seeing how it’ll be Valentine’s Day weekend, Valentine’s Day will probably cruise to an obligatory win, followed by the broader Percy Jackson and trailed by the hard-R The Wolfman. That’s actually the reverse order of how much I want to see those movies. The record stands at 7 for 13.

Check out the rest of the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

James Cameron's box office juggernaut brought its foreign total to $1.45 billion and crossed the $2 billion worldwide mark, where it already has claim to to highest worldwide gross (though not the highest attendance - remember, a large part of Avatar's box office receipts come from inflated 3D ticket pricing). Meanwhile, Mel Gibson's return to acting Edge of Darkness made a very average debut at the box office, pulling in $17.2 million for 2nd place. When in Rome, the other new wide release, came in 3rd with a similarly unremarkable $12.4 million. The Tooth Fairy showed an above-average resiliency, falling 28.6% in its second weekend to take 4th place with $10 million. The Book of Eli rounded out the top 5 with a $8.9 million gross, bringing its total to $74.5 million.]]>

To utterly no one’s surprise, Avatar won the weekend yet again in its 7th week of release. Pulling in $31.3 million, the sci fi epic’s total reached $595.8 million and is mere days away from surpassing Titanic’s $600.8 million mark to claim the title of highest domestic gross of all time.

James Cameron’s box office juggernaut brought its foreign total to $1.45 billion and crossed the $2 billion worldwide mark, where it already has claim to to highest worldwide gross (though not the highest attendance – remember, a large part of Avatar’s box office receipts come from inflated 3D ticket pricing). Meanwhile, Mel Gibson’s return to acting Edge of Darkness made a very average debut at the box office, pulling in $17.2 million for 2nd place. When in Rome, the other new wide release, came in 3rd with a similarly unremarkable $12.4 million. The Tooth Fairy showed an above-average resiliency, falling 28.6% in its second weekend to take 4th place with $10 million. The Book of Eli rounded out the top 5 with a $8.9 million gross, bringing its total to $74.5 million.

Next week, two wildly different newcomers will inevitably vie for second place. Taken director Pierre Morel’s zany action-comedy From Paris with Love will compete with Nicholas Sparks’ latest romance Dear John. From Paris with Love will definitely play broader, and Morel’s Taken cred may be enough to trump some lukewarm early reviews, so I expect it to finish ahead of Dear John. The record stands at 7 for 11.

Check out this week’s top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

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.]]>

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

The picture dipped only 18% to bring its domestic total to $491.8 million, while its worldwide box office reached a staggering $1.6 billion, putting it in position to surpass Titanic as the highest grossing film of all time over the next couple of weeks. At this rate, breaking the $2 billion mark isn't entirely out of the question either.

Meanwhile, there was plenty to go around over the MLK holiday weekend, with The Book of Eli coming in 2nd with a strong $31.6 million start. That's Denzel Washington's second best opening weekend ever, behind only 2007's American Gangster. Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones also expanded wide to a surprisingly decent $17 million weekend, good enough for 3rd place (though not nearly good enough to begin earning back its $100 million budget). Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel moved past Sherlock Holmes into 4th place, earning $11.5 million, while the picture starring Golden Globe-winning Robert Downey, Jr. came in 5th with $9.8 million. New release The Spy Next Door opened flatly to a 6th place debut, pulling in $9.7 million and (hopefully) urging Jackie Chan to consider some better fare.]]>

In addition to picking up a couple Golden Globes in the Best Director and Best Picture – Drama categories, Avatar earned another $41.3 million and took the top spot at the box office for the fifth weekend in a row.

The picture dipped only 18% to bring its domestic total to $491.8 million, while its worldwide box office reached a staggering $1.6 billion, putting it in position to surpass Titanic as the highest grossing film of all time over the next couple of weeks. At this rate, breaking the $2 billion mark isn’t entirely out of the question either.

Meanwhile, there was plenty to go around over the MLK holiday weekend, with The Book of Eli coming in 2nd with a strong $31.6 million start. That’s Denzel Washington’s second best opening weekend ever, behind only 2007’s American Gangster. Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones also expanded wide to a surprisingly decent $17 million weekend, good enough for 3rd place (though not nearly good enough to begin earning back its $100 million budget). Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel moved past Sherlock Holmes into 4th place, earning $11.5 million, while the picture starring Golden Globe-winning Robert Downey, Jr. came in 5th with $9.8 million. New release The Spy Next Door opened flatly to a 6th place debut, pulling in $9.7 million and (hopefully) urging Jackie Chan to consider some better fare.

In the specialty market, The Last Station opened in limited release. The Leo Tolstoy biopic starring Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, James McAvoy, and Paul Giamatti bowed strongly with $81,700 in 3 venues, or a $27,233 per-theater average.

Next week, three new releases will join a market already crowded with strong holiday holdovers. Joining the fray will be the Brendan Fraser-Harrison Ford medical (melo?)drama Extraordinary Measures, Paul Bettany’s supernatural action-thriller Legion, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s family comedy(?) The Tooth Fairy. Of the three, The Tooth Fairy might actually have the best shot to finish in front. Legion and Extraordinary Measures don’t have quite as broad an appeal, and I expect them to finish in 2nd and 3rd, respectively. I’d do some more research on the different buzz the films have been getting, but I ALREADY WORK AROUND THE CLOCK! The record stands at 4 for 6.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

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.]]>

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

That mark eclipsed not only Meet the Fockers' previous record of $41.7 million, but earned the title of highest grossing third weekend ever, ahead of Spider-Man's $45 million. James Cameron's latest dipped only 9.4%, hitting the $350 million mark in only 17 days, second only to last summer's The Dark Knight. In three weekends, Avatar has already become the second highest grossing film released in 2009 (behind only Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which it will soon pass) and moved up to 15th on the all-time list. That's insane. And overseas, things were even better: a $133 million international take put its foreign total up to $666.7 million. Combined with its domestic numbers, Avatar's worldwide total in 3 weeks is $1.02 billion, making it the 4th highest-grossing picture of all time and mere days away from overtaking both Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (both final installments in huge trilogies, by the way) for 2nd place behind only (hey, how about that) Cameron's last film, Titanic. And this is after less than a month in theaters! Sure, inflated IMAX/3D prices play a part, and the pace will probably slow now that the holidays are winding down, but come on! It sure makes all that ink we spilled about whether Avatar would be able to recoup its budget or not seem silly.

Anyway, things were pretty shiny behind Avatar too. Sherlock Holmes and the dreaded Squeakquel both posted strong holdover numbers, coming in 2nd and 3rd with $36.7 million and $35.2 million, respectively. It's Complicated dipped the least among last weekend's wide openers, falling only 14.9% to maintain 4th place with $18.8 million. The Blind Side kept up its impressive showing as well, rounding out the top 5 with $11.9 million, which put it past the $200 million mark.]]>

Well, Avatar certainly doesn’t show any signs of slowing down at the box office, racking up another 1st place finish with $68.5 million for the highest grossing New Year’s weekend ever.

That mark eclipsed not only Meet the Fockers‘ previous record of $41.7 million, but earned the title of highest grossing third weekend ever, ahead of Spider-Man’s $45 million. James Cameron’s latest dipped only 9.4%, hitting the $350 million mark in only 17 days, second only to last summer’s The Dark Knight. In three weekends, Avatar has already become the second highest grossing film released in 2009 (behind only Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which it will soon pass) and moved up to 15th on the all-time list. That’s insane. And overseas, things were even better: a $133 million international take put its foreign total up to $666.7 million. Combined with its domestic numbers, Avatar’s worldwide total in 3 weeks is $1.02 billion, making it the 4th highest-grossing picture of all time and mere days away from overtaking both Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (both final installments in huge trilogies, by the way) for 2nd place behind only (hey, how about that) Cameron’s last film, Titanic. And this is after less than a month in theaters! Sure, inflated IMAX/3D prices play a part, and the pace will probably slow now that the holidays are winding down, but come on! It sure makes all that ink we spilled about whether Avatar would be able to recoup its budget or not seem silly.

Anyway, things were pretty shiny behind Avatar too. Sherlock Holmes and the dreaded Squeakquel both posted strong holdover numbers, coming in 2nd and 3rd with $36.7 million and $35.2 million, respectively. It’s Complicated dipped the least among last weekend’s wide openers, falling only 14.9% to maintain 4th place with $18.8 million. The Blind Side kept up its impressive showing as well, rounding out the top 5 with $11.9 million, which put it past the $200 million mark.

The White Ribbon had a solid limited release debut, pulling in $61,300 across 3 venues, or a $20,433 per-theater average.

My first set of 2010 predictions (which I actually made last week) has next weekend’s wide releases of Leap Year, Daybreakers, and Youth in Revolt finishing in that order. We’ll find out next weekend if my instincts have gotten any better than last year.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

Avatar claimed the title of highest-grossing second weekend ever, narrowly edging out The Dark Knight's $75.2 million, after dipping only 2% from its opening weekend's numbers. $57.9 million of its Christmas haul was from 3D sites, a new record for the format. After 10 days, Avatar's domestic total sits at a lofty $212.7 million, and with its $410.9 million foreign take, James Cameron is once again king of the world as his latest film's worldwide total is at a staggering $623.6 million.

The new wide releases all pulled their weight, with Sherlock Holmes leading the pack. The star power of Robert Downey, Jr. helped vault the film into 2nd place with a $62.4 million bow, and its Friday take of $24.6 million handily set the new record for best Christmas day opening. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (I want to destroy that title) meanwhile defied all odds by not only being worse than the original, but out-grossing it as well. It had a weekend haul of $48.9 million for 3rd place, and tallied with its Wednesday opening, the film has hit an unconscionable five-day total of $75.6 million. Numbers like that have me living in terror that a third installment is inevitable. Thanks a lot, kids.

Nancy Meyer once again showed that romantic comedies with adults over 50 years old do, in fact, have an audience. It's Complicated's 4th place debut with $22.1 million outdid Meyer's Something's Gotta Give, anchored by Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin's on-screen indiscretions. The Blind Side kept up its impressive run, rounding out the top 5 with $11.5 million.]]>

Between Christmas falling on a Friday and a slew of strong new releases, this past weekend became the highest-grossing ever as Avatar repeated at the number 1 spot with a smashing $75.6 million.

Avatar claimed the title of highest-grossing second weekend ever, narrowly edging out The Dark Knight’s $75.2 million, after dipping only 2% from its opening weekend’s numbers. $57.9 million of its Christmas haul was from 3D sites, a new record for the format. After 10 days, Avatar’s domestic total sits at a lofty $212.7 million, and with its $410.9 million foreign take, James Cameron is once again king of the world as his latest film’s worldwide total is at a staggering $623.6 million.

The new wide releases all pulled their weight, with Sherlock Holmes leading the pack. The star power of Robert Downey, Jr. helped vault the film into 2nd place with a $62.4 million bow, and its Friday take of $24.6 million handily set the new record for best Christmas day opening. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (I want to destroy that title) meanwhile defied all odds by not only being worse than the original, but out-grossing it as well. It had a weekend haul of $48.9 million for 3rd place, and tallied with its Wednesday opening, the film has hit an unconscionable five-day total of $75.6 million. Numbers like that have me living in terror that a third installment is inevitable. Thanks a lot, kids.

Nancy Meyer once again showed that romantic comedies with adults over 50 years old do, in fact, have an audience. It’s Complicated’s 4th place debut with $22.1 million outdid Meyer’s Something’s Gotta Give, anchored by Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin’s on-screen indiscretions. The Blind Side kept up its impressive run, rounding out the top 5 with $11.5 million.

Up in the Air expanded wide to 1,895 theaters and grossed a healthy $11.3 million for 6th place, but The Princess and the Frog and Nine, to a greater extent, both failed to gain any traction as they finished with $9 million and $5.5 million, respectively. In the specialty market, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus bowed with $124,743 across 4 sites, or a solid $31,186 per-theater average.

There won’t be any new releases until the week after New Years, when a middling trio of wide openers will compete with this past weekend’s juggernauts. Vampire action-thriller Daybreakers hits theaters alongside Amy Adams’ romantic comedy Leap Year and Michael Cera’s teen comedy Youth in Revolt. Leap Year is definitely the easiest sell here so I expect it to finish ahead of the pack, though strong reviews and word-of-mouth makes Daybreakers a dark horse. Youth In Revolt will most likely finish third because though it is also receiving a lot of positive buzz, the film has a bigger mountain to climb with its niche target audience and the Weinstein Company/Dimension’s history of disappointing box office returns. Michael Haneke’s Cannes Palm d’Or winning drama The White Ribbon opens this Wednesday in limited release as well. The year-end record is 58 for 82, or 71%.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

Despite heavy snowstorms across the American Northeast, James Cameron's sci fi epic Avatar hauled in an estimated $73 million over the weekend to take the top spot at the box office. That figure put Avatar into the record books as the highest grossing debut ever for a non-sequel/remake/adaptation, and also made it the second-highest opening in December behind just I Am Legend's $77.2 million back in 2007.

Heavy snowfall bombarded the East Coast over the weekend, which saw marked declines starting Saturday as the brunt of the storm hit. Still, Avatar managed to get a good number of folks to the theater, with 3D presentations accounting for about $52 million of the gross. IMAX doesn't report its numbers until Monday, but company reps are already saying the film has broken every major IMAX record. An additional $159.18 million came in through international territories, which brought Avatar's worldwide debut up to a whopping $232.2 million. With movies traditionally gaining steam through Christmas, Avatar is already well on its way to making back its sky-high budget and becoming another stellar blockbuster hit for Cameron.

The other new wide release, Did You Hear About The Morgans?, made virtually no noise in its opening and managed only $7 million for 4th place. Last weekend's number 1, The Princess and the Frog, fell to second with a $12.2 million showing and brought its total to a so-so $44.8 million. The Blind Side continued its strong run and came in 3rd with $10 million, while The Twilight Saga: New Moon rounded out the top 5 with $4.4 million (and just barely edged out Invictus' 6th place, $4.2 million weekend).]]>

Updated: Variety is now reporting that Sunday numbers were stronger than expected, with Avatar’s final tally being $77.3 million to finish ahead of I Am Legend as the best December opening ever.

Despite heavy snowstorms across the American Northeast, James Cameron’s sci fi epic Avatar hauled in an estimated $73 million over the weekend to take the top spot at the box office. That figure put Avatar into the record books as the highest grossing debut ever for a non-sequel/remake/adaptation, and also made it the second-highest opening in December behind just I Am Legend’s $77.2 million back in 2007.

Heavy snowfall bombarded the East Coast over the weekend, which saw marked declines starting Saturday as the brunt of the storm hit. Still, Avatar managed to get a good number of folks to the theater, with 3D presentations accounting for about $52 million of the gross. IMAX doesn’t report its numbers until Monday, but company reps are already saying the film has broken every major IMAX record. An additional $159.18 million came in through international territories, which brought Avatar’s worldwide debut up to a whopping $232.2 million. With movies traditionally gaining steam through Christmas, Avatar is already well on its way to making back its sky-high budget and becoming another stellar blockbuster hit for Cameron.

The other new wide release, Did You Hear About The Morgans?, made virtually no noise in its opening and managed only $7 million for 4th place. Last weekend’s number 1, The Princess and the Frog, fell to second with a $12.2 million showing and brought its total to a so-so $44.8 million. The Blind Side continued its strong run and came in 3rd with $10 million, while The Twilight Saga: New Moon rounded out the top 5 with $4.4 million (and just barely edged out Invictus‘ 6th place, $4.2 million weekend).

In the specialty market, Rob Marshall’s Nine bowed spectacularly to the tune of $247,000 at 4 theaters, or a weekend-best $61,750 average. Crazy Heart also fared well, with $84,200 at four sites for a $21,050 average.

Avatar will face some stiff competition next week when Sherlock Holmes bows at theaters. Likewise, It’s Complicated will come into the picture with Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, which I still can’t believe is getting a theatrical release (TELL ME those ads don’t look like direct-to-DVD hooey). Incidentally, that’s also the order that I think the new releases will finish in next week. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus will open in limited release as well. The record stands at 57 for 79.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

Invictus, the other new wide opener, was unable to gain a foothold in its debut however. Bowing in 3rd place with $9.1 million, the figures were rather disappointing for the star-studded pedigree of the movie's cast and crew. Director Clint Eastwood and stars Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon were unable to drum up enough interest in the political/sports hybrid picture, perhaps due to the South African and Rugby setting not clicking with American audiences.

The Blind Side, last week's reigning champ, fared much better. The football movie held on to 2nd place with only a 23% drop, pulling in $15.5 million in its fourth weekend of release for a $150.2 million total. The Twilight Saga: New Moon continued its steady decline with a 48% drop to $8 million, good enough for 4th place. A Christmas Carol however only dropped off 11.5%, with its holiday theme aligning with the Christmas mood. It finished in 5th place with $6.9 million, bringing its total to $124.5 million. The box office has been particularly strong this year as, in the middle of last week, 2009 officially became the highest grossing year in Hollywood history (though the attendance record in the modern era still belongs to 2002).]]>

Disney’s The Princess and the Frog took the top spot at the weekend box office, expanding wide to earn an estimated $25 million. While not shattering too many records (though it did set the record for highest grossing start for an animated movie in December), Princess‘ numbers were strong considering how 2D animation has declined in recent years. Also, the family-friendly flicks typically build steam through the Christmas season, where slow and steady tends to win the race.

Invictus, the other new wide opener, was unable to gain a foothold in its debut however. Bowing in 3rd place with $9.1 million, the figures were rather disappointing for the star-studded pedigree of the movie’s cast and crew. Director Clint Eastwood and stars Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon were unable to drum up enough interest in the political/sports hybrid picture, perhaps due to the South African and Rugby setting not clicking with American audiences.

The Blind Side, last week’s reigning champ, fared much better. The football movie held on to 2nd place with only a 23% drop, pulling in $15.5 million in its fourth weekend of release for a $150.2 million total. The Twilight Saga: New Moon continued its steady decline with a 48% drop to $8 million, good enough for 4th place. A Christmas Carol however only dropped off 11.5%, with its holiday theme aligning with the Christmas mood. It finished in 5th place with $6.9 million, bringing its total to $124.5 million. The box office has been particularly strong this year as, in the middle of last week, 2009 officially became the highest grossing year in Hollywood history (though the attendance record in the modern era still belongs to 2002).

Up in the Air expanded to 72 theaters and grossed $2.5 million, cracking the top 12 for the 11th place spot. A Single Man bowed at 9 sites for $216,000, or a $24,000 per-theater average. Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones also debuted in limited release, hitting 3 theaters for $116,000, or a relatively underwhelming $38,667 average considering the blockbuster nature of the pic.

Next week sees James Cameron’s sci-fi epic Avatar open against the Hugh Grant-Sarah Jessica Parker comedy Did You Hear About The Morgans? The early reviews for Avatar have been extremely positive, and it’s certainly going to need to be a heck of a box office juggernaut to make back its purported $400+ million budget. It should beat out The Morgans handily (or let us hope it does, for all our sakes). In limited release, Jeff Bridges’ Crazy Heart will hit theaters, as will Rob Marshall’s star-studded musical drama Nine. The record stands at 55 for 77.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

The Blind Side held right on to the number 2 spot, and gave New Moon a run for its money with a solid $40.1 million weekend. That's actually over a 17% increase from its opening weekend numbers, and accomplishing that without a large addition to its theater count suggests just how well the movie is being received by audiences. 2012 dropped to third place with $17.7 million, while newcomer Old Dogs scraped by in 4th place with a $16.9 million three-day take. A Christmas Carol finished 5th with $15.8 million (also an increase from last weekend's numbers), while Ninja Assassin debuted outside of the top 5 in 6th place, with a not-disgusting $13.1 million.]]>

The Twilight Saga: New Moon led the pack in a robust Thanksgiving weekend, pullng in $42.9 million to repeat in the top spot at the box office. It was a steep 70% drop from the record-setting opening last week, but New Moon has already pulled in $230.9 million, well past Twilight’s original $192 million domestic total.

The Blind Side held right on to the number 2 spot, and gave New Moon a run for its money with a solid $40.1 million weekend. That’s actually over a 17% increase from its opening weekend numbers, and accomplishing that without a large addition to its theater count suggests just how well the movie is being received by audiences. 2012 dropped to third place with $17.7 million, while newcomer Old Dogs scraped by in 4th place with a $16.9 million three-day take. A Christmas Carol finished 5th with $15.8 million (also an increase from last weekend’s numbers), while Ninja Assassin debuted outside of the top 5 in 6th place, with a not-disgusting $13.1 million.

The Road cracked the top 12 with a $1.5 million take across 111 venues, or a solid $13,534 per-theater average. The Princess and the Frog followed in typical Disney footsteps, amassing $786,190 at 2 sites for a $393,095 average. That’s good for fourth place all-time in the theater average category, behind just The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Hercules.

Next week, the holiday box office starts heating up with four new wide releases. Sony/Screen Gems’ action thriller Armored hits theaters, along with Jim Sheridan’s family war drama Brothers, Robert De Niro’s comedy Everybody’s Fine, and horror-farce Transylmania. Armored should take the top spot, followed by Everybody’s Fine, then the heavily dramatic Brothers, and finally the poorly marketed Transylmania. But don’t take my word for it. The record stands at a dismal 52 for 71.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

New Moon more than doubled Twilight's $69.6 million opening weekend take, and now sits just $50 million shy of the original's $192.8 million domestic total. However, Twilight plummeted over 62% in its second weekend, and already day-to-day drops point to a similar pattern for New Moon. Eclipse, the third film in the franchise, is slated for a June 30 release in 2010, or just seven months from now.

The Blind Side debuted in a distant second with $34.5 million - not much considering New Moon's take but considerable in its own right. It's not only a personal best for Sandra Bullock (narrowly edging out The Proposal), but it's also the highest bow for a sports drama. Planet 51, the other new wide opener, came in 4th place with a sub-par $12.6 million. 2012 came in 3rd with $26.5 million and A Christmas Carol rounded out the top 5 with a $12.2 million showing.]]>

Hordes of young teens flooded the theaters this weekend, helping The Twilight Saga: New Moon to set new midnight showing ($26.3 million) and opening day ($72.7 million) records on its way to a staggering $140.7 million three-day total. Easily the best opening weekend of the year, New Moon now sits in the #3 spot behind The Dark Knight ($158.4 million) and Spider-Man 3 ($151.1 million) on the all-time list. Now, if we could only get the youngin’s to show up in those numbers at the polls, today’s youth might actually be a force to be reckoned with.

New Moon more than doubled Twilight’s $69.6 million opening weekend take, and now sits just $50 million shy of the original’s $192.8 million domestic total. However, Twilight plummeted over 62% in its second weekend, and already day-to-day drops point to a similar pattern for New Moon. Eclipse, the third film in the franchise, is slated for a June 30 release in 2010, or just seven months from now.

The Blind Side debuted in a distant second with $34.5 million – not much considering New Moon’s take but considerable in its own right. It’s not only a personal best for Sandra Bullock (narrowly edging out The Proposal), but it’s also the highest bow for a sports drama. Planet 51, the other new wide opener, came in 4th place with a sub-par $12.6 million. 2012 came in 3rd with $26.5 million and A Christmas Carol rounded out the top 5 with a $12.2 million showing.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans opened in limited release with $257,000 at 27 venues, or a $9,519 per-theater average. Broken Embraces, Pedro Almodovar’s latest with Penelope Cruz, bowed much more gracefully with $108,000 at 2 sites, or an impressive $54,000 average. Wes Anderson’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox stayed solid in its second weekend of limited release, pulling in $199,000 at 4 theaters for a $49,750 average.

Next week, two new wide releases bow on opposite ends of the spectrum. First up is Ninja Assassin, the Wachowski Brothers-produced hyper-violent action flick, followed by Old Dogs, the new John Travolta-Robin Williams tame-looking comedy. Fantastic Mr. Fox also expands wide to 2,000+ theaters. Disney’s The Princess and the Frog will open at 2 theaters and the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic thriller The Road will also go into limited release. I’m liking Ninja Assassin to open ahead of Old Dogs (or I certainly hope that’s the case, if I’m to keep any faith in the taste of America’s moviegoing public). The record stands at 52 for 69.

Check out the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

To make it a truly global affair, 2012 pulled in an additional $160 million in foreign ticket sales, its three day worldwide total reaching a whopping $225 million. As for last weekend's number 1, A Christmas Carol showed it may still have some legs yet as it dropped only 25.7% to the number 2 spot with $22.3 million, bringing its total to $63.3 million. Meanwhile, Precious jumped into the top 5 by expanding to 174 theaters. Its $6 million total was good enough for 4th place, though its impressive $35,000 per-theater average wasn't able to claim the title of highest of the weekend. That honor fell to Wes Anderson's The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which brought in $260,000 in its 4 theater limited debut, or a $65,000 average.

The Men Who Stare at Goats finished narrowly in front of Precious for 3rd place with $6.2 million, while This Is It rounded out the top 5 with $5.1 million. And as a side note, Paranormal Activity finally crossed the $100 million this weekend, pulling in $4.2 million in 8th place for a $103.9 million total in its eighth week of release.]]>

Roland Emmerich’s latest end-of-the-world flick 2012 not only destroyed the world on-screen, it destroyed the weekend box office too, with a tidal wave of money. The special effects extravaganza turned its Friday take of $23.7 million into an estimated $65 million weekend haul, becoming Emmerich’s second most successful opening to date (behind 2004’s The Day After Tomorrow) and obliterating nearly every box office analyst’s predictions.

To make it a truly global affair, 2012 pulled in an additional $160 million in foreign ticket sales, its three day worldwide total reaching a whopping $225 million. As for last weekend’s number 1, A Christmas Carol showed it may still have some legs yet as it dropped only 25.7% to the number 2 spot with $22.3 million, bringing its total to $63.3 million. Meanwhile, Precious jumped into the top 5 by expanding to 174 theaters. Its $6 million total was good enough for 4th place, though its impressive $35,000 per-theater average wasn’t able to claim the title of highest of the weekend. That honor fell to Wes Anderson’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which brought in $260,000 in its 4 theater limited debut, or a $65,000 average.

The Men Who Stare at Goats finished narrowly in front of Precious for 3rd place with $6.2 million, while This Is It rounded out the top 5 with $5.1 million. And as a side note, Paranormal Activity finally crossed the $100 million mark this weekend, pulling in $4.2 million in 8th place for a $103.9 million total in its eighth week of release.

Pirate Radio floundered in its semi-wide release, reeling in $2.8 million for 11th place at 882 venues. Other limited release films that bowed this weekend include the Ben Foster-Woody Harrelson war drama The Messenger, which brought in $50,000 at 4 sites for a $12,500 average; the Joseph Gordon-Levitt-Lynn Collins romantic drama/thriller Uncertainty, which bowed with $12,200 at 1 New York City theater; and the Emmy Rossum-Zach Gilford teen drama Dare, which only managed $12,000 at 2 venues for a $6,000 per-theater average.

2012 scored massively this weekend without any real competition, but we’ll see how it holds up next week against teenage vampire drama New Moon, the second film in the Twilight franchise. Joining New Moon will be Sandra Bullock’s based-on-a-true-story sports drama The Blind Side and Sony’s animated comedy Planet 51. New Moon should easily win the weekend, and I’m guessing Planet 51 will finish just a little in front of The Blind Side. The specialty market will also see a trio of new releases, including Nicolas Cage’s much-buzzed about Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Pedro Almodovar’s latest Penelope Cruz-collaboration Broken Embraces, and John Woo’s Chinese historical epic Red Cliff. The record stands at 51 for 66.

Catch the top 12 below, or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow

Considering its $200 million budget and Madagascar 2's $63 million debut in the same frame last year, there wasn't much merriment coming from Disney's offices. However, Zemeckis' last mo-capped Christmas film The Polar Express also had a shaky $23.3 million start before chugging to a $160+ million domestic gross over its holiday season run. Carol doesn't have much direct competition through the winter season either, so it may find a foothold yet.

The Men Who Stare at Goats bowed above expectations with a decent $13.3 million haul for 3rd place. The Fourth Kind, meanwhile, came in right behind in 4th with $12.5 million. Richard Kelly's The Box however was unable to find an audience, with the esoteric director's third feature debuting in 6th place with a sub-par $7.9 million. As for last weekend's number 1, Michael Jackson's This Is It dropped to second with $14 million, while Paranormal Activity rounded out the top 5 with $8.6 million to come just short of the $100 million mark.]]>

The holiday box office season was kicked off to a chilly start with the debut of Robert Zemeckis’ A Christmas Carol. Despite having Jim Carrey take on the lead and being pushed with the Disney Digital 3D tag, the performance-captured film was only able to gross a disappointing $31 million to take the top spot.

Considering its $200 million budget and Madagascar 2’s $63 million debut in the same frame last year, there wasn’t much merriment coming from Disney’s offices. However, Zemeckis’ last mo-capped Christmas film The Polar Express also had a shaky $23.3 million start before chugging to a $160+ million domestic gross over its holiday season run. Carol doesn’t have much direct competition through the winter season either, so it may find a foothold yet.

The Men Who Stare at Goats bowed above expectations with a decent $13.3 million haul for 3rd place. The Fourth Kind, meanwhile, came in right behind in 4th with $12.5 million. Richard Kelly’s The Box however was unable to find an audience, with the esoteric director’s third feature debuting in 6th place with a sub-par $7.9 million. As for last weekend’s number 1, Michael Jackson’s This Is It dropped to second with $14 million, while Paranormal Activity rounded out the top 5 with $8.6 million to come just short of the $100 million mark.

The real success at the box office this weekend was Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire’s 13th place opening, which smashed limited release records with $1.8 million across 18 sites, or a $100,000 per-theater average. Splinterheads also bowed in limited release with $12,000 at one site.

Next week, Roland Emmerich tries to end the world again with disaster epic 2012. Pirate Radio, the British comedy from Richard Curtis that was previously known as The Boat That Rocked, will also go wide at around 900 venues. 2012, with its 3000+ theater release, should obviously come in first. The record stands at 49 for 64.

Check out the top 12 below or head on over to Box Office Mojo for the full weekend chart:

New releases highlighted in yellow