Zoe Saldana in Avatar (WETA / 20th Century Fox)
James Cameron's Avatar has grossed an estimated $48.5 million over the weekend, a relatively modest 29 percent drop from a week ago, according to figures provided by Box Office Mojo. Its average per theater was an outstanding $14,173; among the weekend's top 12 films, the nearest competitor was Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig's Daybreakers, with $5,945 on its opening weekend.
Avatar's total domestic gross to date stands at $429m. The sci-fi spectacle is now the seventh biggest blockbuster ever at the domestic box office (not taking inflation/higher 3D/IMAX ticket prices into account), slightly ahead of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($423.3m) and slightly behind Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace ($431m). By next Friday, Avatar will likely be #4, right behind Star Wars' $460.9m.
Worldwide (not adjusted for inflation/dollar exchange variations), Avatar remains at #2, with $1.331 billion, quite some ways behind Cameron's own Titanic. The Leonardo DiCaprio-Kate Winslet hit 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. It's been nominated for the Art Directors Guild, the Directors Guild and the Producers Guild awards, and it's up for a Best Film (drama) Golden Globe.
Final box-office tallies for the weekend will be released on Monday.