Avatar sales hit $1.3bn

2010-01-10 22:59

Los Angeles  - Avatar ruled the worldwide box office for a fourth weekend on Sunday, creeping closer to the all-time record held by writer/director James Cameron's earlier effort Titanic, distributor 20th Century Fox said on Sunday.

Cameron's 3-D sci-fi epic earned $191.5m over the weekend, taking its global total to $1.3bn.

Avatar passed the $1.12bn tally of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King last Wednesday to become the second-highest worldwide release ever, trailing only Titanic with worldwide sales of $1.84bn in 1997-1998. Data are not adjusted for inflation, and Avatar sales are also inflated by premium prices for 3-D screenings.

The North American contribution rose to $429m, with weekend sales of $48.5m propelling the movie to the No 7 slot in the record books.

Fox, a unit of News Corp, said it expects Avatar to challenge the 2008 Batman sequel The Dark Knight ($533m) for the No 2 slot. Titanic holds the US Canada title with $601m.

Avatar set a new record for fourth-weekend sales, having already set new marks for its second and third weekends. The film is enjoying strong holds every weekend as fans return for repeat viewings and occasional moviegoers show up to see what the fuss is all about.

The last film to enjoy four consecutive weekends at No 1 wasThe Dark Knight . Titanic was tops for a record 15 consecutive weekends.

Biggest challenge

Its biggest challenge next weekend will come from The Book of Eli, a post-apocalyptic action film starring Denzel Washington. His movies usually open in the $20m range, with the notable exception of 2007's American Gangster, which kicked off with $43m.

International sales for Avatar now stand at $906m after a weekend tally of $143m  from 111 countries. Top markets include France ($100m), Germany ($73m) and Britain ($67m). It opened in China on Monday, setting an opening-week record of $40.2m, Fox said.

Avatar is the tale of a disabled ex-Marine sent from Earth to infiltrate a race of 3-metre blue aliens and persuade them to let his employer mine their homeland for natural resources. It was reportedly the most expensive film ever made, with a budget of at least $300m.

Elsewhere in North America, Sherlock Holmes spent a third weekend at No 2 with weekend sales of $16.6m. Director Guy Ritchie's caper, starring Robert Downey Jr as the Victorian sleuth, has earned $165.2m. It was released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of Time Warner Inc.

Fox's Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel was No 3 for a third week with $16.3m. The total for the live-action/computer animated sequel rose to $178.2m.

The vampire movie Daybreakers opened at No 4 with a solid $15m, in line with the expectations of its distributor Lionsgate. The studio is a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

Also new was the romantic comedy Leap Year at No 6 with a modest $9.2m, and the teen comedy Youth in Revolt at No 9 with just $7m.

Leap Year, starring Amy Adams as a Boston woman who travels to Ireland to propose to her boyfriend, was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric Co Women accounted for 79% of the audience, the studio said.

Youth in Revolt, starring Michael Cera as a virginal teen, was released by the closely held Weinstein Co It was shelved after filming finished in the summer of 2008.

- Reuters