'Avatar' rules with $68.3M, acme $1B worldwide

LOS ANGELES – James Cameron's science-fiction ballsy "Avatar" had addition arch weekend with $68.3 actor domestically, cutting accomplished $1 billion worldwide, alone the fifth cine anytime to hit that mark.

No. 1 for the third-straight weekend, 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" aloft its calm absolute to $352.1 actor afterwards aloof 17 days. The blur added $133 actor across to lift its all-embracing booty to $670 million, for a common gross of $1.02 billion.

"Avatar" opened two weekends beforehand with $77 million, a able alpha but far beneath dozens of added blockbusters that debuted as aerial as $158 million. But business for added blockbusters usually tumbles in afterward weekends, while "Avatar" revenues almost alone over the active Christmas and New Year's weekends.

"It's like a delinquent bales train. It aloof keeps accomplishing business," said Fox administration controlling Bert Livingston. "Here's what's happening: I anticipate everybody has to see `Avatar' once. Even bodies who don't commonly go to the movies, they've heard about it and are saying, `I accept to see it.' Then there's those bodies seeing it assorted times."

"Avatar" was Cameron's aboriginal blur back 1997's "Titanic," the better avant-garde blockbuster with $1.8 billion worldwide.

Cameron now is the alone filmmaker to absolute two movies that accept topped $1 billion. Forth with "Titanic," the others are "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" at $1.13 billion, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" at $1.06 billion and "The Dark Knight" at a atom over $1 billion, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

With "Avatar" closing in on No. 2 blur "The Return of the King," Cameron is in arresting ambit of accepting the two top-grossing movies globally.

"Avatar" has had a amount advantage over those added billion-dollar movies. About 75 percent of its calm business has appear from theaters assuming it in agenda 3-D presentation, those tickets about costing a few dollars added than admissions for the 2-D version.

Finishing at No. 2 for the weekend was Robert Downey Jr.'s abomination escapade "Sherlock Holmes" with $38.4 million. The Warner Bros. blur aerial its calm absolute to $140.7 actor afterwards 10 canicule in theaters.

In third abode was 20th Century Fox's ancestors account "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" with $36.6 million. It aloft its 10-day absolute to $157.3 million.

The top-three movies, forth with solid holdovers that included Universal's "It's Complicated" at No. 4 with $18.7 million, steered Hollywood to a big alpha to 2010 afterwards a year of almanac revenue.

Hollywood accomplished 2009 with $10.6 billion domestically, calmly afore the antecedent almanac of $9.7 billion in 2007, according to Hollywood.com.

Factoring in today's college acceptance prices, the year was able but not a avant-garde record-breaker for cardinal of tickets sold. According to Hollywood.com, calm admissions came in at 1.42 billion in 2009, the best in the aftermost bristles years, admitting able-bodied beneath the avant-garde almanac of 1.6 billion in 2002.

In Hollywood's celebrity years of the 1930s and '40s, afore television breakable the cine audience, estimated cine appearance ran as aerial as 4 billion some years.

Studios began 2010 with a headstart over aftermost year. Overall revenues came in at $230 million, up 50 percent from New Year's weekend in 2009, back "Marley & Me" was No. 1 with $24.3 million.

Like "Titanic" 12 years ago, "Avatar" has adequately bright sailing now that the holidays are over. Hollywood is entering a apathetic season, back beneath big movies access and antagonism is lighter.

"Titanic" lingered as the No. 1 blur for months arch up to the Academy Awards, area it won 11 Oscars, including best account and director.

"Avatar" additionally accepted a analytical admired with able Oscar potential. Cameron bankrupt new arena in accumulation live-action, digitally-enhanced performances, beheld furnishings and 3-D presentation to asperse admirers in his affected account of bodies and aliens on a abroad moon.

"Leave it to James Cameron to do this. To not alone set the abstruse apple on fire, the beheld apple on fire, but additionally the box-office apple on blaze 12 years afterwards `Titanic,'" said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.

Estimated admission sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final abstracts will be appear 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.

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On the Net:

http://www.hollywood.com/boxoffice

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Universal Pictures and Focus Features are endemic by NBC Universal, a assemblage of General Electric Co.; Sony Pictures, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount and Paramount Vantage are capacity of Viacom Inc.; Disney's ancestor is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a analysis of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox Atomic are endemic by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is endemic by a bunch of Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corp., Comcast Corp., DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group; Lionsgate is endemic by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is endemic by Rainbow Media Holdings, a accessory of Cablevision Systems Corp.; Rogue Pictures is endemic by Relativity Media LLC; Overture Films is a accessory of Liberty Media Corp.