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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. Read»
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. Read»
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. Read»
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). Read»
The Blind Side finally surpassed The Twilight Saga: New Moon at the weekend box office, taking the number 1 spot with $20.4 million (versus New Moon’s 2nd place $15.7 million) in its third weekend of release. That brought its domestic total to $129.3 million, making Blind Side the highest grossing sports drama on record.
Jim Sheridan’s Brothers finished tops amongst the newcomers, grossing a modest $9.7 million for 3rd place. A Christmas Carol held on for 4th place with $7.5 million, while Old Dogs rounded out the top 5 with $6.9 million. Armored debuted in 6th with a weak $6.6 million, while Robert De Niro’s family dramedy grossed $4 million for 10th place. Transylmania, last among the new wide releases, only scrounged up a woeful $274,000 at 1,007 sites, or a $272 per-theater average. That total is the new record for lowest opening for a movie playing at over 1,000 theaters, and was less than Up in the Air made in limited release at 15 sites. George Clooney’s latest captured a healthy $1.2 million, or a $79,000 average. Read»
Befriend a giant rabbit, work for a vampire, make a deal with the devil, kill some zombies, plus more in this week’s edition of WIR! Read»
Well, except for the part about the murdered little girl and all that… Read»
Details on projects in the pipeline as well as ones coming to a theater near you soon! Plus, an awesome sneak peek and a trailer full of quirky sweetness. Read»
Check out four more photos from Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones, scanned in from Empire Magazine’s awesome 20th Anniversary issue! Read»
