Sam Worthington, Laz Alonso in Avatar (WETA / Twentieth Century Fox) (top); Sarah Jessica Parker, Hugh Grant in Did You Hear About the Morgans? (Barry Wetcher / Columbia) (middle); Robert Pattinson in The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Kimberley French / Summit Entertainment) (bottom)
James Cameron’s new sci-fi epic Avatar landed at the No. 1 spot at the North American box office this weekend with a solid — but hardly record-breaking — $73 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Early estimates predicted the film would bag up to $80 million.
Currently playing in 2D, 3D and IMAX at 3,452 locations, Avatar scored a superb average of $21,147 per theater. In the film, Sam Worthington (above, with Laz Alonso) plays a former marine who is sent to win over the trust of a native population on a distant planet that boasts minerals invaluable to the human race. (Avatar is budgeted at around $230 million — though some say production costs were actually much higher.)
Did You Hear About the Morgans?, this weekend’s other wide release, debuted in fourth place with only $7 million from ticket sales at 2,718 locations. The comedy stars Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker as a couple forced to enter a witness-protection program.
At No. 2, Disney’s The Princess and the Frog generated another $12.2 million, lifting its cumulative gross to $44.7 million. Following in third place with $10 million was the Sandra Bullock vehicle The Blind Side, which reached a domestic total of $164.7 million.
Chris Weitz’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon, starring Robert Pattinson (above), Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner, finished fifth this weekend, taking home $4.3 million for a cume of $274.5 million after a stunning five-week run in release.
Clint Eastwood’s Invictus, starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman (as Nelson Mandela), followed at No. 6, earning $4.1 million for a total haul of a highly disappointing $15.8 million. Disney’s A Christmas Carol, featuring Jim Carrey, collected $3.4 million, enough for the seventh spot. The film’s total currently stands at $130.7 million.
Entering the top 10 after expanding to 175 locations was Jason Reitman’s George Clooney vehicle Up in the Air, which has won numerous film critics awards and is up for several Golden Globes and SAG Awards. Up in the Air, co-starring Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick, grossed a solid $3.1 million for an early cume of $8.1 million at No. 8.
Jim Sheridan’s Brothers, with Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Natalie Portman, finished ninth with $2.6 million ($22 million domestic total), while Disney’s Old Dogs, a much-panned comedy starring John Travolta and Robin Williams, pulled $2.2 million for a total gross of $43.5 million.
Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)