By Ryan Parsons | Image property of 20th Century Fox, Variety
Avatar
Even with Warner Bros. throwing The Book of Eli and Paramount The Lovely Bones at Avatar, James Cameron's sci-fi epic continues to perform in spectacular fashion. With the film remaining at the top of the box office for the fifth weekend straight, Avatar is now on track to beat Titanic.
Avatar Box Office Win for Fifth Frame
Avatar dipped a miniscule 18% to take in another $41.3 million domestically during its fifth frame. With the help of an also-strong international box office, the film has now made $1.6 billion worldwide; putting it on pace to surpass Titanic in the next couple of weeks. Seeing that I am one of the many who have seen the film repeatedly in theaters, I'd like to think that I helped contribute a (very) small portion of that.
Coming in the number two spot was The Book of Eli, which counted on Denzel Washington's box office draw over critical acclaim. The post-apocalyptic adventure was able to take in $31.6 million during its opening bow.
Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones did better than expected with an estimated $17.1 million over the weekend. Paramount is hoping that moviegoers take advantage of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday by going to see the film. Either way, the studio has to be relieved, considering that the film performed far below expectations during its initial limited run.
Coming back to Avatar, the film is looking to break a new record over the next few days. The film will be the third in history to earn more than $500 million domestically. The Dark Knight did it in 45 days, Titanic did it in 98, and Avatar is looking to do it in 32. Whoa! The 3D spectacle also continues to push the record for the biggest ever IMAX release, with the current number at $116 million.
Just in case you hadn't noticed - So far 2010 is looking like a great year for the box office.
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