‘Avatar’ nears $500 million mark

Twentieth Century Fox’s “Avatar” remained king of the box office, but Warner Bros.’ “The Book of Eli” and Paramount’s “The Lovely Bones” also did strong business as they debuted nationwide over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

Nothing can seem to slow James Cameron’s “Avatar,” which posted a worldwide cume of $1.6 billion through Sunday, meaning that in the next two weeks it will surpass Cameron’s “Titanic” to become the highest grossing film of all time. “Titanic” cumed $1.8 billion.

Domestically, “Avatar” declined a slim 18% to an estimated $41.3 million for a cume of $491.8 million in its fifth fame. Holiday biz should help the pic jump the $500 million mark today. Overseas, “Avatar” also dipped just 18% to an estimated $125 million for the sesh, putting the foreign total at $1.11 billion.

Denzel Washington topliner “Book of Eli,” financed and produced by Alcon Entertainment and distributted by Warners, opened to an estimated $31.6 million from 3,111 theaters to place No. 2. It’s the second straight victory for Alcon after “The Blind Side,” which remains on the top 10 chart after nine weeks.

Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones” was the surprise victory of the weekend, grossing an estimated $17.1 million from 2,563 runs through Sunday (Par says that number will grow to $20 million through Monday). Film suffered in its initial limited run, but Par was able to successfully retool its marketing campaign and target young femmes for the nationwide expansion.

Opening below expectations was Lionsgate’s family pic “The Spy Next Door,” which grossed an estimated $9.7 million from 2,924 to place No. 6. The Jackie Chan-George Lopez-Billy Ray Cyrus headliner was financed and produced by Relativity Media.

“Spy Next Door” was unable to take on Fox holdover “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” which declined 31% to an estimated $11.5 million for a cume of $192.6 million in its fourth frame. Overseas, “Squeakquel” grossed $14.3 million for a cume of $158.5 million and worldwide total of $351.1 million, less than $10 million shy of the
$360.6 million cumed worldwide by the original “Alvin and the Chipmunks.”

At the specialty B.O., highlights included the Metropolitan Opera’s live, hi-def broadcast of Bizet’s “Carmen,” which grossed $2.94 million from 700 theaters, the best number ever for the Met’s program. Overseas, 100,000 tickets were sold in 27 countries, also a record.

Scoring the best location average of the weekend was Sony Pictures Classics’ “The Last Station,” which debuted to an estimated $81,704 from three theaters for a $27,235 per location.

“Avatar” will reach the $500 million in 32 days, faster than either “Titanic” or “The Dark Knight,” the only films that have jumped $500 million. “Dark Knight” reached it in 45 days; “Titanic,” in 98.

“Titanic was built for comfort, Avatar was built for speed,” Fox senior VP of domestic distribution Chris Aronson said. Overseas, “Avatar” debuted in Italy, its last territory opening. Film grossed $14.5 million, the industry’s top opening of all time. It also is doing record business in Japan and China.

Fox execs say “Avatar” will surpass the $1.2 billion earned by “Titanic” sometime this week.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Tuesday.

1. “Avatar,” $41.3 million.

2. “The Book of Eli,” $31.6 million.

3. “The Lovely Bones,” $17.1 million.

4. “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” $11.5 million.

5. “Sherlock Holmes,” $9.8 million.

6. “The Spy Next Door,” $9.7 million.

7. “It’s Complicated,” $7.7 million.

8. “Leap Year,” $5.8 million.

9. “The Blind Side,” $5.6 million.

10. “Up in the Air,” $5.5 million.

[Credit: Variety / Hollywood.com]