Tagged: Sherlock Holmes

Avatar keeps on rolling…

Some people say James Cameron could have filmed his birthday party with a Canon camera and done well, but his 3D tecnopic, Avatar, has stayed steady since its release and just crossed $1 billion in worldwide box office this weekend.

Domestically, the film had another modest dropoff, garnering a $68.3 million weekend domestically, to bring its US cumulative to $352.1 million, but by passing $1 billion in only 17 days of release, the film, which cost half that to make and promote, is now ensured to see black ink.

Sherlock Holmes, the Robert Downey Jr. vehicle, did well enough to remain in second place, but fell sharply from its debut to a $38.3 million weekend and $140.6 million in 10 days domestically. The Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel was close behind with $36.6 million weekend and $157.3 million to day in 10 days domestically.

It’s Complicated, The Blind Side, Up In the Air and The Princess and the Frog all did well over New Year’s weekend, gaining over $10 million or more, but none came close to the top three.

New competition arrives next weekend with the vampire movie Daybreakers, the rom-com Leap Year, and the Michael Cera teen comedy Youth In Revolt, with perhaps only Leap Year best positioned to break into the Top Three; however, right now, Avatar appears positioned to enjoy a very long run at the top of the charts.

Avatar hangs on at box office!

Both Robert Downey Jr’s Sherlock Holmes and kids flick Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel did terrific at the box office over Christmas weekend, but like the best diet supplement, Avatar held on to its top spot at the box office.

Avatar posted $75 million in domestic box office, a drop-off of less than three percent from last weekend, and brought its domestic take to $212 million. Add in foreign markets and Avatar raked in another $402 million, making for a global box office take of $615 million in only 10 days of release. Even with its lofty budget of $300 million, plus another $200 million in global marketing efforts, Avatar is now safely in the black.

The next question will be how long it can hang on.

Sherlock Holmes drew $65.3 million in its opening bow, which would be more than enough to earn the top spot most weeks, but this time out was only good enough for a strong second place. Alvin and the Chipmunks was also surprisingly strong, garnering $50.2 million in its opening bow and $77 million since its early release last week.

Proving that this weekend’s choices were all worthy of moviegoers’ attention, even the iffy romantic comedy It’s Complicated did well, drawing $22.1 million in box office and securing the fourth spot. Going into wide release, Up In The Air posted an $11.75 million weekend to take the fifth spot away from The Blind Side, which still managed $11.73 million in its sixth week of release.

Twilight Saga: New Moon dropped all the way to 11th place, adding only $3 million domestically to its $280 million take so far, and with $381 million from foreign markets, that puts New Moon at $662 million, or just slightly ahead of Avatar. Of course, I’d rather have New Moon’s profit margin; that flick cost only $25 million against $662 million in global box office, compared to Avatar’s $500 million plus against $616 million in global sales.

Not many new flicks expected next weekend, so the horse race should prove interesting among all the contenders currently on the board.