James Cameron sci-fi pic the fourth highest grosser of all time
Twentieth Century Fox’s “Avatar” reached a worldwide cume of $1.02 billion through Sunday, leading the most lucrative Christmas season in history.
“Avatar” becomes the fourth highest grosser ever, behind James Cameron’s “Titanic” ($1.8 billion), “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” ($1.12 billion) and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” ($1.07 billion). “Avatar” should soon eclipse the latter two pics.
Over New Year’s weekend, “Avatar” grossed an estimated $68.3 million from 3,461 runs at the domestic B.O. — the best number ever for a film in its third weekend — for a cume of $352.1 million in its 17th day in release.
Overseas, the 3D sci-fi fantasy added $133.5 million for a foreign cume of $670.2 million in 21 days in release.
Of “Avatar’s” global total, $66.4 million has come from Imax theaters, a record for the large-format exhib.
“Avatar” may have been the mega-grosser, but there were still plenty of presents for other pics to unwrap over the holiday. Domestic B.O. revenues between Dec. 18 and Jan. 3 reached an estimated $985.4 million, up 31% on last year.
Over New Year’s weekend, Warner Bros.’ Robert Downey Jr.-Jude Law topliner “Sherlock Holmes” declined 38% to an estimated $38.4 million from 3,626 runs for a domestic cume of $140.7 million in its first 10 days.
Overseas, “Sherlock” grossed an estimated $37.6 million from 4,600 screens in 33 markets for a foreign cume of $88.3 million and worldwide total of $229 million.
Fox’s “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” which opened Dec. 23, saw a domestic cume of $157.3 million through Sunday, including an estimated second weekend take of $36.6 million from 3,747.
Overseas, “Squeakquel” earned $32 million from 6,105 playdates in 54 markets for a cume of $99.1 million. Worldwide total is $256.4 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. “Avatar,” $68.3 million.
2. “Sherlock Holmes,” $38.4 million.
3. “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” $36.6 million.
4. “It’s Complicated,” $18.7 million.
5. “The Blind Side,” $12.7 million.
6. “Up in the Air,” $11.4 million.
7. “The Princess and the Frog,” $10 million.
8. “Did You Hear About the Morgans?”, $5.2 million.
9. “Nine,” $4.3 million.
10. “Invictus,” $4.1 million.
[Credit: Variety / Hollywood.com]