Box Office: 'Avatar' still king with $48M

Weekend of January 8 – 10, 2010: ‘Avatar’ repeats box office win

As expected, James Cameron’s sci-fi hit movie “Avatar” stayed on top of the North American box office this weekend with another solid $48.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Still playing at 3,422 locations, “Avatar” scored an average of $14,173 per theater, bringing its domestic gross to a stunning $429 million after only 25 days in release. Domestically, the film is now the 7^th highest grossing movie of all time.

This weekend’s new releases failed to secure a spot in the top three. Lionsgate’s vampire flick “Daybreakers” debuted in fourth place with a decent $15 million, scoring an average of $5,945 per theater at 2,523 locations.

Also opening this weekend was Anand Tuker’s romantic comedy “Leap Year,” which picked up $9.1 million at No. 6. Starring Amy Adams, the film follows a woman falling for an innkeeper (Matthew Goode) on her way to Dublin to propose to her boyfriend.

Meanwhile, Michael Cera’s new comedy “Youth in Revolt” only made it to ninth place this weekend, bagging $7 million in ticket sales at 1,873 locations. “Revolt” follows a teenager who creates a rebellious alter ego to win over the girl of his dreams.

Still going strong was Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes,” which held on to No. 2 with a weekend gross of $16.6 million. That brings the film’s current total to $165.1 million after three weeks in release.

Following in third place with $16.3 million was “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” which brought its cumulative gross to $178.1 million. Nancy Meyers’ comedy “It’s Complicated” reached a total of $76.3 million after weekend earnings of $11 million.

At No. 7, Sandra Bullock’s success drama “The Blind Side” pulled $7.7 million this weekend, lifting its domestic total to $219.1 million. Jason Reitman’s drama “Up in the Air” followed in eighth place, bagging $7.1 million for a cume of $54.7 million.

Rounding out the top 10 this weekend was “The Princess and the Frog,” which brought in $4.7 million and reached a domestic total of $92.6 million after a seven-week release.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)