Giovanni Ribisi, Sigourney Weaver in Avatar (Mark Fellman / 20th Century Fox)
James Cameron's sci-fi epic Avatar earned another $6.9 million at the US/Canada box office on Wednesday, following a minor 5.7 percent drop from the day before, according to Box Office Mojo. To date, Avatar has earned $374.4m at the domestic box office. It's now the #12 highest-grossing movie of all time. When Thursday figures are added in, Avatar will have overtaken The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($377m) and perhaps even Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith ($380.2m).
Internationally, Avatar is #2, with $1.131b. About two-thirds of the film's box-office take has been generated overseas, partly thanks to the low value of the US dollar. Cameron's own Titanic is #1, with $1.842b — and will likely remain in that position for quite a while.
Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, remains the #2 movie of the season. The action flick grossed $2.3m, a 14.2 percent drop from Tuesday. Its cume is currently at $146.6m. For comparison's sake, at 3,626 theaters, Sherlock Holmes had a $640 per screen average; Avatar's, at 3,461 theaters, was $1,996. Even factoring in 3D/IMAX premium surcharges, that's a wide gap.
Meryl Streep's It's Complicated was once again the #3 movie, with $1.5m. Its total is now $63.9m, which is quite good for an "adult" film. Following a significant 24.2 percent drop, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel was #4, with $1.1m. The film's total is now $160.8m. Starring George Clooney, multiple-award winner Up in the Air was #5, with $835,000, total $46.9m.
Others in the top ten were Sandra Bullock's The Blind Side, Disney's The Princess and the Frog, the Hugh Grant-Sarah Jessica Parker comedy Did You Hear About the Morgans?, Rob Marshall's Nine (total to date $14.8m), and Clint Eastwood's Invictus, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon, starring Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and People's Choice Award winner Taylor Lautner, was #11, with $250,000 in ticket sales. Total to date: $288.7m.