Giovanni Ribisi, Sigourney Weaver in Avatar (Mark Fellman / 20th Century Fox)
James Cameron's Avatar has grossed an estimated $41.3 million over the weekend, a modest 17.9 percent drop from a week ago, according to figures provided by Box Office Mojo. Its average per theater was a great $12,572 (last week: $14,173); among the weekend's top 12 films, the nearest competitor was the post-apocalyptic Denzel Washington vehicle The Book of Eli, with $10,162 on its opening weekend.
As predicted, Avatar has passed George Lucas' 1977 sci-fier Star Wars at the domestic box office. Avatar's total domestic gross to date stands at $491.7m vs. Star Wars' $460.9m. Cameron's film is now the third biggest blockbuster ever at the domestic box office (not taking inflation/higher 3D/IMAX ticket prices into account).
With $533.3m, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight is now within reach of Avatar. In fact, Pandora should be ahead of Gotham City a week from today.
Worldwide (not adjusted for inflation, higher 3D/IMAX ticket prices, or dollar exchange variations), Avatar remains at #2, with $1.602 billion (69.3 percent from overseas), still some ways behind Cameron's own Titanic. The Leonardo DiCaprio-Kate Winslet hit has grossed $1.842b.
Written and directed by Cameron, Avatar stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver, Laz Alonso, Giovanni Ribisi, CCH Pounder, and West Studi. The film has received nominations from the American Cinema Editors, the American Society of Cinematographers, the Writers Guild, the Art Directors Guild, the Directors Guild and the Producers Guild.
It's also up for a Best Film (drama) Golden Globe tonight and it'll likely be either the leader or one of the leaders when the Oscar nominations are announced on Feb. 2.
I still love that adjusted for inflation "Gone With The Wind" totally blows all the other films out of the water.