Zoe Saldana in Avatar (top); Mel Gibson in Edge of Darkness (bottom)
Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock Holmes, Denzel Washington’sThe Book of Eli, and even Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel managed to overtake Avatar on their opening day, but on Friday James Cameron's environmentally conscious sci-fier easily beat out both Mel Gibson's comeback vehicle Edge of Darkness and the Josh Duhamel-Kristen Bell romantic comedy When in Rome.
According to Box Office Mojo figures, Avatar grossed an estimated $7.3 million, a relatively small but not inconsiderable 18.9 percent drop from the previous Friday. After 43 days in release, Avatar’s domestic total is $571.7m.
At 3,066 locations, Edge of Darkness was #2 with $5.6m and a $1,844 per screen average. For comparison's sake, Avatar's average on day 43 — 3D/IMAX premium surcharges should be considered here — was $2,383. When in Rome was #3 with $4.4m and a solid — for this type of comedy — $1,792 per screen average.
At #4 The Book of Eli grossed $2.4m, followed by Dwayne Johnson’s Tooth Fairy with $2.28m. Legion was next with $2.04m, but with a noticeably higher per-screen average than Johnson's flick: $824 vs. $682.
Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones, starring Saoirse Ronan, Rachel Weisz, and Mark Wahlberg, was #7 with $1.35m, followed by Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes with $1.22m and the Meryl Streep-Alec Baldwin-Steve Martin romantic comedy It’s Complicated with $1.03m.
Rounding out the top twelve movies were Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel ($810K), Sandra Bullock’s The Blind Side ($795K), and the Harrison Ford-Brendan Fraser vehicle Extraordinary Measures ($760K).
Photo: Avatar (WETA / 20th Century Fox); Edge of Darkness (Warner Bros.)
I will not ever pay to see another Mel Gibshit film…. I won't even watch him for free when he;s on cable.