Weekend Estimates: Avatar Rolls On as Daybreakers Leads New Releases

January 10, 2010

It was another weekend of total box office domination for Avatar, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. With $48.5 million, the alien adventure movie was down just 29% from New Year's weekend, and shot past $400 million. Fox estimates it will have $429 million by the end of the day on Sunday. The new releases were never going to compete at that level, but Daybreakers had a decent opening with a 3-day estimate of $15 million, enough only for 4th place behind Sherlock Holmes ($16.1 million for $165.2 million cume) and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel) ($16.3 million for $178.2 million).

Records to fall this weekend include the fourth-biggest weekend ever, comfortably beating Titanic's $28.7 million (see chart). Avatar topped $400 million at the US box office in 23 days, five days slower than The Dark Knight, which it now seems likely to overtake as the 2nd-highest-grossing movie of all time (fastest movies to $400 million) (Avatar vs. Dark Knight vs. Titanic comparison chart).

Universal's Leap Year fell just short of hopes with $9.17 million. The main concern going forwards will be its weak reviews, which will most likely see it disappear from theaters before Valentine's Day. Weinstein's Youth in Revolt wasn't a disaster, but could only manage 9th place in a crowded market with $7 million.

Among the returning releases, Avatar was the best-performing movie in the top ten, down just 29% from last weekend. Up in the Air was off 34% at $7.1 million and The Blind Side was down 35% at $7.75 million. All other wide releases dropped at least 40% from last weekend as we move into the slower January season.

- Weekend Estimates
- Biggest fourth weekends
- Fastest movies to $400 million
- Avatar Comparison Chart

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Daybreakers, Youth in Revolt, Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Leap Year