With a production and marketing cost around $400 million, James Cameron's 3D sci-fi epic Avatar [AVATR] has broken even with an estimated $48.5 million weekend that brought its domestic gross to $429 million. Worldwide, Avatar has earned $1.14 billion surpassing The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King's $1.12 billion to become the second biggest movie of all times. Cameron's own Titanic stands at number one with $1.85 billion.
Sherlock Holmes [SHOLM] held on to second place with $16.6 million to bring its total to $165 million. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel [ALVN2] remained at the third position, grossing $16.3 million to advance its total to $178 million.
Daybreakers [DAYBR] fared best amongst the weekend's new wide releases. Lionsgate's vampire thriller banked an estimated $15 million to finish in fourth place.
The romantic comedy Leap Year [LEPYR] tallied $9.2 million to debut at the sixth spot, while the R-rated comedy Youth in Revolt [YVRLT] managed just $7 million to open ninth overall.
| Rank | TITLE | F-S-S | TOTAL |
| 1 | AVATAR | $48,500,000 | $429,040,297 |
| 2 | SHERLOCK HOLMES | $16,610,000 | $165,178,000 |
| 3 | ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL | $16,300,000 | $178,184,676 |
| 4 | DAYBREAKERS | $15,000,000 | $15,000,000 |
| 5 | IT'S COMPLICATED | $11,007,375 | $76,370,040 |
| 6 | LEAP YEAR | $9,165,150 | $9,165,150 |
| 7 | THE BLIND SIDE | $7,750,000 | $219,197,000 |
| 8 | UP IN THE AIR | $7,100,000 | $54,742,000 |
| 9 | YOUTH IN REVOLT | $7,000,000 | $7,000,000 |
| 10 | THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG | $4,743,000 | $92,639,000 |
| 11 | INVICTUS | $1,715,000 | $33,500,000 |
| 12 | THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS | $1,706,507 | $2,105,637 |
Source: Exhibitor Relations Co.
Tag(s): AVATR, SHOLM, ALVN2, DAYBR, LEPYR