Box Office: 'Avatar' wins race with $73M!

Updated on Monday, December 21, 2009 at 11:01AM by Franck Tabouring

Weekend of December 18 – 20, 2009: 'Avatar' scores big while the 'Morgans' crash & burn

James Cameron’s new sci-fi epic “Avatar” landed at the No. 1 spot at the North American box office this weekend with a solid $73 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Early estimates predicted the film could bag up to $80 million, but it fell a little short.

Fox’s action spectacle, which is currently playing in 2D, 3D and IMAX at 3,452 locations, scored a superb average of $21,147 per theater. The film is budgeted at around $230 million, the most expensive project the studio has ever developed.

In “Avatar,” Sam Worthington plays a former marine who is sent into the wild to win over the trust of a native population on a distant planet that boasts minerals invaluable to the human race.

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Box Office: 'Princess and the Frog' reigns

Weekend of December 11 – 13, 2009: 'The Blind Side' finally defeated by 'Princess'

Walt Disney’s 2D-animated adventure “The Princess and the Frog” took the North American box office by storm this weekend with a solid $25 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Disney’s anticipated return to hand-drawn animation expanded to 3,434 locations Friday, earning a weekend average of $7,280 per theater. The film’s total gross currently stands at $27.8 million.

Sandra Bullock’s surprise hit “The Blind Side” slipped to No. 2, taking home another $15.4 million. The story about a family helping out a poor football hopeful reached a domestic total of $150.2 million.

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'New Moon' grabs another $85M overseas

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" continued its world dominance at the box office this weekend, scoring $85.1 million on the international circuit in 56 markets. Domestically, the "Twilight" sequel grabbed $42.5 million.

Chris Weitz's film starring Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson reached $243 million overseas, compared to a domestic total of $230.6 million. It should cross the $500 million mark worldwide next week.

Following in second place was Roland Emmerich's apocalyptic adventure "2012," which grabbed another $61.7 million from ticket sales in 107 territories. The film's total gross now stands at a solid $455.8 million.

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Box Office: 'New Moon' reaches $230M!

Weekend of November 27 – 29, 2009: 'New Moon' & 'Blind Side' deliver superb results at b.o.

Chris Weitz’s “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” prevailed at the North American box office for the second consecutive weekend with a solid $42.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The sequel to “Twilight” scored a superb average of $10,515 per theater at 4,042 locations, lifting its domestic total to an incredible $230.6 million after a little more than one week in release.

Following closely in second place was Sandra Bullock’s surprise drama “The Blind Side,” which bagged another $40.1 million for a cumulative gross of $100.2 million.

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'New Moon' rules worldwide box office

While scoring a superb $140.7 million weekend domestically, Chris Weitz's "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" also topped the international box office with an impressive $118.1 million in only 25 markets.

Worldwide, the anticipated "Twilight" sequel starring Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson pulled almost $260 million this weekend. The first film only bagged $384 million during its entire run.

At No. 2, Roland Emmerich's apocalyptic action adventure "2012" picked up another $100.5 million, reaching a fantastic overseas total of $341.1 million after only 12 days in release.

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'New Moon' scores third highest opening gross!

Weekend of November 20 – 22, 2009: ‘Twilight Saga: New Moon’ has come to rule them all!

“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” stormed to the top spot at the North American box office this weekend with a phenomenal $140.7 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Chris Weitz-directed sequel to “Twilight” scored a huge average of $34,965 per theater at 4,024 locations, scoring the third highest opening of all time (following "The Dark Knight" and "Spider-Man 3").

“Moon” already broke records when it bagged $26.2 million from midnight screenings Friday. The sequel starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson outgrossed its predecessor by a solid $71.1 million.

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Emmerich's '2012' dominates global box office

Roland Emmerich's apocalyptic action epic "2012" blew up the worldwide box office this weekend, scoring a stunning $160 million opening on the international circuit, according to the latest estimates.

"2012," which follows a group of people trying to survive numerous cataclysms as the world is coming to an end, took the No. 1 spot in all 105 markets this weekend. Domestically, the film bagged $65 million.

Far away at No. 2, Disney's 3D motion-capture adventure "A Christmas Carol" generated $16 million from ticket sales in 21 markets. The Robert Zemeckis-directed film reached an overseas total of $33.6 million.

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Box Office: '2012' explodes with $65M!

Weekend of November 13 – 15, 2009: Emmerich's action flick destroys everything!

Roland Emmerich’s apocalyptic action spectacle “2012” destroyed its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a solid $65 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Sony’s “2012” opened at 3,404 locations Friday and scored an explosive average of $19,095 per theater this weekend, easily beating the $35,8 million opening gross of Emmerich’s previous film “10,000 B.C.”

Starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt and Danny Glover, the action adventure follows a group of individuals trying to survive a series of cataclysms as the world is coming to an end.

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As expected, 'This Is It' still on top overseas

Sony's Michael Jackson documentary "This Is It" managed to hold on to its No. 1 spot at the international box office this past weekend with a solid $29.4 million in ticket sales in 110 territories. The film's overseas total gross currently stands at $129.1 million.

At a distant No. 2, Robert Zemeckis' 3D motion-capture adventure "A Christmas Carol" opened in 18 markets with a weekend gross of $12.7 million. The film stars Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge.

Following in third place was Pixar's adventure "Up," which took home another $8.8 million for a total gross of $368.2 million. "Couples Retreat" finished at No. 4 with $5.7 million for a cume of $28.8 million.

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'Christmas' reigns for Disney at the box office

Weekend of November 6 – 8, 2009: Scrooge beats goats, aliens and creepy boxes...

As expected, Walt Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” took the No. 1 spot at the North American box office this weekend with a solid $31 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Robert Zemeckis-directed 3D motion-capture adventure based on Charles Dickens’ classic tale opened at 3,683 locations and scored an average of $8,417 per theater, enough to crush its competition.

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