Box Office: 'Avatar' passes 'Dark Knight'

Weekend of January 22 – 24: ‘Avatar’ prevails, passes ‘Dark Knight’

James Cameron’s sci-fi hit flick “Avatar” prevailed yet again at the North American box office this weekend with a solid $36 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Weekend earnings for the Fox hit movie dropped compared to last week’s, but “Avatar” easily beat its competition by scoring an average of $11,461 per theater at 3,141 locations.

“Avatar” also passed the $533 million domestic gross of “The Dark Knight,” lifting its cumulative gross to $552.7 million. The film is also on track to beat the worldwide total of Cameron’s “Titanic.”

This week’s new releases generated mixed results, but “Legion” delivered the best performance with a three-day gross of $18.2 million, enough for No. 2. The film follows the battle between humans and angels.

Meanwhile, “Tooth Fairy” opened in fourth place with $14.5 million from ticket sales at 3,344 locations. Starring Dwayne Johnson, the comedy follows a mean hockey player ordered to duty as a real tooth fairy.

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'Avatar' heading for another weekend win

James Cameron's "Avatar" beat all new releases Friday at the North American box office by scoring a daily gross of $9.1 million. Fox's sci-fi epic reached a total haul of $525.9 million after 36 days in release.

"Avatar" is on track to win the weekend race again, and it will also beat the domestic total of "The Dark Knight" before Sunday. The Golden Globe-winning film may even end up leading next weekend.

At No. 2, new entry "Legion" collected $6.7 million from ticket sales at 2,476 locations. Starring Paul Bettany, the flick follows a bunch of strangers battling an army of angels to ptotect humanity's only hope.

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Trailer debut: 'Extraordinary Measures'

Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser co-star in Tom Vaughan's upcoming drama "Extraordinary Measures," which was formerly titled "Crowley." You can now watch the first trailer right after the jump.

Based on the true story of John (Fraser) and Aileen Crowley (Keri Russell), the film follows a couple who finds a gifted researcher (Ford) with a potential cure for their two children's fatal genetic disorder.

Together they form a bio-tech company focused on developing a life-saving drug, but as it turns out, things don't exactly go according to plan, and soon, the two face a problem that tests their relationship.

To tell you the truth, I'm not quite sure what to think about this trailer at this stage. The cast sure looks awesome, but the preview sells the film as a saccharine melodrama, which can either be a hit or miss.

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