Zoe Saldana in Avatar (WETA / 20th Century Fox)
Avatar has broken another record.
James Cameron's futuristic fantasy earned another $16.4 million at the domestic box office on Monday, bringing its total to $93.4 million after just four days in release. It's the biggest Monday take in December ever (not adjusted for inflation or 3D/IMAX ticket-price premiums).
Does that mean Avatar will have the sturdy legs of a soccer player? Not necessarily.
Spider-Man 2, which made nearly twice as much — $27.6m — as Avatar on a Monday in July, went on to gross $373.4 at the US/Canada box office. That's not bad at all, but it's probably not good enough for the costlier Avatar.
Also, Pearl Harbor, considered a disappointment thanks to its high production costs, made only slightly less than Avatar on a Monday back in 2001 (a time when movie-ticket prices were cheaper than today). The Ben Affleck vehicle eventually grossed a total of $198.5m domestically.
Among the 10 movies that had better Mondays at the box office than Avatar — though some of those Mondays may have been holidays — are The Dark Knight, Shrek 2, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, X Men: The Last Stand, Bruce Almighty, and The Day After Tomorrow.
According to Box Office Mojo, Avatar's current worldwide box-office take stands at $285.2m.
On Jan. 14 in my town all shows are still sold out and you had better get there at least an hour early to stand in line for a good seat–and you had better have brought pre-paid tickets with you or you won't get a seat at all. This movie will break all records guaranteed.
well looks like Avatar DOES have sturdy legs like a soccer player. Now at No. 2 all-time box office record. And what's interesting is I went to watch it 2nd time at IMAX 3D last night (Jan 7th), it's still a sold out at 10pm and people lined up 2 hrs ahead to get center seats. There were quite few 2nd or even 3rd timers among the lineups. Hands down for James Cameroon, now he owns no.1 and 2 spots in movie history. Can't wait for more from him.
This is perhaps the finest movies ever made… I was glued to my seat throughout the movie… Every thing was perfect about the movie – the breadth-taking graphics, the acting, the script and the most appreciating part was the movie's Direction James Cameroon had set the bar and raised it to such an extent that is difficult (if not impossible) for others to achieve Terminator, Titanic and now Avatar.. they'll be movies that'll be known for a very long time