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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Box Office: 'Avatar' wins it yet again!

Weekend of January 15 – 27, 2009: 'Avatar' prevails!

James Cameron’s sci-fi epic “Avatar” held on to the No. 1 spot at the North American box office one more time this weekend with another solid $41.3 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Fox’s “Avatar” lost the top spot to “The Book of Eli” Friday but regained momentum Saturday to win the weekend race with an average of $12,572 per theater at 3,285 locations. The film’s total currently stands at $491.7 million.

Debuting in second place was Albert and Allen Hughes’ post-apocalyptic action flick “The Book of Eli,” which bagged $31.6 million from ticket sales at 3,111 locations. Starring Denzel Washington, the film follows a loner on his journey to protect a book.

At No. 3, Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones” picked up $17 million after expanding into $2,563 theaters. Based on the famous novel of the same title, the film lifted its early total gross to $17.5 million after several weeks in limited release.

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'Book of Eli' beats 'Avatar' at box office Friday

'Avatar' defeated at Friday box office! Denzel Washington rules for now...

Albert and Allen Hughes' post-apocalyptic action flick "The Book of Eli" kicked James Cameron's sci-fi hit "Avatar" off the throne at the North American box office Friday with a solid $11.7 million in ticket sales.

Playing at 3,111 locations, "Eli" scored an average of $3,769 per theater. The film stars Denzel Washington as a loner who travels across what's left of the U.S. to protect a book that may hold all hope for humanity.

Cameron's "Avatar" scored another $10.4 million Friday, lifting its domestic total to $460.8 million. The film is expected to pass "Star Wars" tomorrow and become the third highest-grossing film domestially.

Following in third place, Peter Jackson's "The Lovely Bones" picked up $5.7 million, reaching an early total gross of $6.1 million. At No. 4, "Sherlock Holmes" bagged $2.8 million for a cumulative gross of $173 million.

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Las Vegas Film Critics Awards 2009

The Las Vegas Film Critics Society picked its best of 2009 this week, and Kathryn Bigelow's war drama "The Hurt Locker" was vited best film of the year. Bigelow also won another best director award.

I already lost count on how many awards the film has been taking home recently, but "The Hurt Locker" also won the best actor award for Jeremy Renner, and the best cinematography prize for Barry Ackroyd.

It doesn't end there though, because "Hurt Locker" also won best editing for Bob Murawski. Meanwhile, Gabourey Sidibe was voted best actress for her role in "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

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Five best trailers for fall 2009 movies

As we launch into the fall movie season, I figured it would be a great time to look at some trailers that blew my mind recently. Here are the top five trailers for movies still to open this year. Please be advised I picked these based solely on the quality of the trailers and the trailers only.

HERE ARE MY FAVORITE TRAILERS FOR UPCOMING '09 FILMS

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Awesome trailer for Jackson's 'Lovely Bones' hits!

Here's the excellent first trailer for Peter Jackson's upcoming "The Lovely Bones," based on the acclaimed book by Alice Sebold. Check it out after the jump.

The film stars Saoirse Ronan (pictured above) as a young girl who's murdered and watches her family and her killer from heaven. Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci and Susan Sarandon co-star.

Wow! This first preview definitely delivers the goods. It looks gorgeous, it looks creepy, it looks suspenseful, and above all, it looks incredibly intriguing.

Look for strong storytelling and certainly solid performances when the film opens nationwide Dec. 11, 2009.

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Two images from 'The Lovely Bones' debut online

I love Empire, I really do, but their latest efforts to promote their site is a liiiiiitle exaggerated. Sure, links and logos should be slapped on exclusive photos and all, but the image you see above isn't really an image anymore. It's more of a logo, really. Anyway, it's supposed to be a still from Peter Jackson's upcoming big-screen adaptation of Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones."

The film stars Saoirse Ronan (pictured above) as a young girl who's murdered and watches her family and her killer from heaven. Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci and Susan Sarandon co-star. After the jump, you can also check out Tucci in a photo released by the folks at USA Today. "Bones" hits Dec. 11, 2009.

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