The James Cameron's big-budget movie took in a worldwide gross total of 232.2 million dollars, which was claimed as the 'highest-grossing nonfranchise, nonsequel opening ever.'James Cameron's "Avatar" has shown its domination on North American Box Office by collecting an estimated $73 million in its first weekend, making it sitting on the top spot. Internationally, the expensive movie posted an approximately $159.2 million bow. Thus, it took in a worldwide gross total of $232.2 million, which was the "highest-grossing nonfranchise, nonsequel opening ever."
Commenting on the performance of the Sam Worthington-starring sci-fi in its debut, co-president of Fox Theatrical International Paul Hanneman said, "We are off to a great start." Additionally, he believed "Avatar" grosses will stand firmly in the coming weeks, claiming "We played 106 markets, and we were No. 1 in all of them."
Meanwhile, last week's winner Disney's animation "The Princess and the Frog" dropped 50% in ticket sales, making it only securing the second place with an estimated $12.2 million haul. On the third position was Sandra Bullock's "The Blind Side", which raked in an additional $10 million. So far, the football drama has collected $164.7 million domestically.
Rounding up the top five were "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" and "The Twilight Saga's New Moon". The Sarah Jessica Parker-starring comedy romance took in an estimated $7 million in its first weekend, while the latest installment of "Twilight" film series grabbed onto $4.4 million in the fifth week for a total of $274.6 million.
Top Ten Movies at Box Office for December 18-20:
1. "Avatar" - $73 million
2. "The Princess and the Frog" - $12.2 million
3. "The Blind Side" - $10 million
4. "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" - $7 million
5. "The Twilight Saga's New Moon" - $4.4 million
6. "Invictus" - $4.2 million
7. "A Christmas Carol (2009)" - $3.4 million
8. "Up in the Air" - $3.1 million
9. "Brothers" - $2.6 million
10. "Old Dogs" - $2.3 million