Sci-fi epic hits $1.34 billion worldwide in fourth frame.
“Avatar’s” first post-holiday weekend was a test of its potential to pass “Titanic” and become the top-grossing film of all time — and the results are optimistic.
With just okay showings by new pics and strong holdovers, 20th Century Fox’s James Cameron blockbuster held on to the No. 1 spot.
It grossed $143 million in its fourth sesh overseas — up 4.5% from the previous weekend — for a foreign total of $906.2 million. Domestically, the film dipped just 29% to $48.5 million for a cume of $429 million and worldwide tally of $1.34 billion, $460 million shy of Cameron’s “Titanic” ($1.8 billion).
Box office observers knew “Avatar” would do well, but its performance beat all expectations.
“We thought we would do $100 million overseas, but we really didn’t know, because we’re outside of holidays and kids are back in school,” Fox co-prexy of international distribution Paul Hanneman said.
Among the new domestic players, Lionsgate’s horror-actioner “Daybreakers” was the only one that turned in a strong performance, grossing an estimated $15 million from 2,523 runs.
Universal’s broad romantic comedy “Leap Year” and Dimension Films’ Michael Cera laffer “Youth in Revolt” were both soft.
“Leap Year,” starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode, grossed an estimated $9.2 million from 2,511 runs to come in No. 6 behind U’s other femme-driven comedy, “It’s Complicated.”
Placing No. 9, “Youth in Revolt” grossed an estimated $7 million from 1,873 locations.
Holdovers continued to dominate, with Warner Bros.’ “Sherlock Holmes” at No. 2 and Fox’s “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” at No. 3 at the domestic B.O.
“Sherlock” declined 55% in its third frame to an estimated $16.6 million from 3,626 for a domestic total of $165.2 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,” $48.5 million.
2. “Sherlock Holmes,” $16.6 million.
3. “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” $16.3 million.
4. “Daybreakers,” $15 million.
5. “It’s Complicated,” $11 million.
6. “Leap Year,” $9.2 million.
7. “The Blind Side,” $7.8 million.
8. “Up in the Air,” $7.1 million.
9. “Youth in Revolt,” $7 million.
10. “The Princess and the Frog,” $4.7 million.
[Credit: Variety / Hollywood.com]
Hey there’s a problem with the blog on OPera the menu is weird :/