Is that déjà vu I feel? With no major new releases this past weekend, Christmas week’s top five films at the box office all held their spots for another week. Avatar continued its box office reign, earning $68.3 million over the weekend, bringing its total gross to over $352 million. Add to that the $133 million it made in the international markets over the weekend and it’s total gross surpasses $1 billion, making James Cameron the first moviemaker to ever direct two movies to this milestone (the first being Titanic). At $1.02 billion, Avatar is the fourth highest grossing movie of all time.
Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes trailed behind at spot number two with a weekend gross of $38.4 million, while Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel earned $36.6 million, staying at spot number three. It’s Complicated took spot number four, with a weekend gross of $18.7 million, and spot number five went to The Blind Side, which earned $12.7 million and passed the staggering mark of $200 million.
The only new releases this past weekend were The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, which earned $24,450 in six theaters, and Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or-winning film The White Ribbon, which earned $61,317 in just three theaters.
Next weekend’s releases face the unenviable task of competing with Avatar. The movies debuting include the Amy Adams romantic comedy Leap Year; the vampire movie Daybreakers, starring Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe; the Michael Cera-starring Youth in Revolt, directed by Miguel Arteta; and Crazy on the Outside, the directorial debut of actor Tim Allen. Alas, not a sci-fi epic in the bunch.