Box Office: “Avatar” Still Making More Money Than Anything Ever

By our guest blogger, Tim Strain

“Avatar” will soon sink “Titanic.”

The phenomenon is now the second biggest film of all-time, strolling past “The Dark Knight" as well as the $550 million mark by posting $36 million in its sixth weekend, which is double the total of the film's closest competition. It now has amassed $553 million domestically--meaning it will pass “Titanic” sometime next week--and $1.836 billion worldwide, meaning it will grab that title in the next day or two.

Keep in mind the effect of inflation and all those 3-D glasses. While “Avatar” is the second-highest grossing film ever, it is only the 26th highest when inflation is taken into consideration, and has only barely cracked the top 100 in terms of number of tickets sold.

All this being said, it still is the big bully in the classroom, terrorizing everything else around it. The CGI-ridden apocalyptic jaunt "Legion" posted solid numbers, earning $18 million in its opening frame. With a budget of $26 million, this will end up being very profitable for Screen Gems. It knocked the equally sepia-toned “Book of Eli” from the number two spot. “Eli” dropped 48 percent to $17 million, better than comparable Denzel Washington vehicles and post-apocalyptic adventures in their second weekends.

Last weekend’s other new additions, Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones” and Jackie Chan's “The Spy Next Door,” both suffered deservedly precipitous drops of 48 percent and 51 percent, respectively. The suits at Paramount/Dreamworks and Lionsgate Films were hoping both would drop less than 40 percent.

This weekend’s other openers feature desperate fading stars attempting to pander to the widest possible audience. The Rock stars as a professional hockey player who sneaks into children’s rooms under the cover of darkness in “The Tooth Fairy,” which pulled in a paltry $14.5 million. While this is an underwhelming opener for The Rock, who averages a $22 million opening, it has little competition in the family demographic over the next several weeks, so it could end up having terrific legs. Harrison Ford and Brendan Frasier aimed for the terrific in the incredibly average looking “Extraordinary Measures.” And yet no cares about this film. It grossed $7 million and will be extraordinarily lucky to turn a profit on its $31 million budget.

It was another kind weekend for holdovers. “Up in the Air,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Crazy Heart” and “The Blind Side” all capitalized on Golden Globe success. “Air” has yet to drop more than 33 percent in any weekend and has quietly garnered $70 million. “Sherlock” grabbed another $7 million and will pass $200 million by next week. “Crazy Heart,” a needed winner for Fox Searchlight films, doubled its screen total and jumped 120 percent after Jeff Bridges’ win for Best Actor. “The Blind Side," the blockbuster out of nowhere, fell out of the top 10 but only dropped 19 percent for another $4.5 million. It has a chance for $250 million, a massive total.