First look: 'Avatar' on top again; 'Daybreakers' opens well above 'Leap Year,' 'Youth in Revolt'

America's not done with "Avatar."

Coming off a phenomenal holiday period that saw the 3-D blockbuster sell more than $350 million of tickets in the U.S. and Canada over just 17 days, "Avatar" experienced the smallest decline of any picture in wide release this weekend, signaling that "must-see" buzz and repeat business will keep driving it well into the winter.

Among new movies, the vampire flick "Daybreakers" got off to a solid start while "Leap Year" and "Youth in Revolt" were unimpressive.

The James Cameron-directed "Avatar" grossed $48.5 million from Friday through Sunday, according to an estimate from distributor 20th Century Fox, down 29% from last weekend. That's a relatively small decline on any weekend and particularly impressive given that this past Friday was a much slower moviegoing day than the previous one, which was a holiday.

Its gross is by far the biggest ever for a film on its fourth weekend and rivals the previous record holder, $28.7 million for Cameron's "Titanic," even accounting for 12 years of ticket price inflation.

Overseas this weekend, "Avatar" took in $143 million from 111 territories. Boosted by its debut in China Monday, foreign ticket sales actually increased this week. Its international total is an astronomical $906 million, while its domestic take so far is an equally impressive $429 million. Not accounting for ticket price inflation, it's the second-biggest movie ever and has a shot of surpassing the first, "Titanic," which collected $1.84 billion worldwide.

"Daybreakers" sold $15 million of tickets domestically, a good beginning given the $20 million that distributor Lionsgate and the Australian government spent to produce the futuristic vampire picture starring Ethan Hawke.

The romantic comedy "Leap Year," starring Amy Adams, debuted to $9.2 million, a weak but not disastrous start as distributor Universal Pictures and its partners Relativity Media spent $19 million to acquire the picture.

"Youth in Revolt" was another disappointment for the financially struggling Weinstein Co., launching to just $7 million.

Among pictures already in the market, "Up in the Air" and "The Blind Side" continued to play well, dropping just 34% and 35%, respectively.

Warner Bros.' "Sherlock Holmes" landed in second place again, declining 55% after its strong New Year's weekend to $16.6 million. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" was right behind it with $16.3 million, down 54%. The two movies have impressive total domestic grosses of $165.2 million and $178.2 million, respectively, following their strong holiday performances.

-- Ben Fritz

Top photo: Michelle Rodriguez in "Avatar." Credit: ILM.

Bottom photo: A scene from "Daybreakers." Credit: Ben Rothstein / Lionsgate.

Comments

[RobertR]

Leap Year was one of the best movies I've ever seen. I'd see it again. It was suspenseful, their hatred for each other was palpable. The dialogue was great, and they had amazing chemistry. I highly recommend this film!