AVATAR Box Office: Another Record-Breaking Tuesday

Zoe Saldana in Avatar (WETA / 20th Century Fox)

Avatar now has the #3 spot in the Box Office Mojo chart of the biggest Tuesday box-office earnings ever (not adjusted for inflation or higher 3D/IMAX ticket prices). But wait. Avatar was #3 last week as well. And still is. Yesterday, James Cameron's sci-fi epic adventure grossed an outstanding $18.2 million — its 12th day out. The previous week, Avatar had grossed $16m. Now, Avatar is both #3 and #4 on the chart. And it's #1 and #2 for the best Tuesday box-office grosses in December.

Michael Bay's Transformers, with $27.8m on opening day, and Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, with $20.8m on Day 5, occupy the top spots on the list. Both films had July release dates. For comparison's sake: on its Day 12, also a Tuesday, The Dark Knight grossed $9.2m, about half of what Avatar earned yesterday. Having said that, remember that Avatar's ticket prices are costlier and that this is the Tuesday between Christmas and New Year's, when lots of people have plenty of free time in their hands.

Avatar's current total take at the domestic box office is $250.4. The film stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver.

Also doing well on Tuesday were Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, at #11 with $12.5m, and Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, at #20 with $10.2m.