‘Avatar’ Wins The Weekend In The Sunday Box Office Report

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: New Moon” ($4.4 million)

Blizzards are powerful forces to be reckoned with, but so are the natives of Pandora. The two forces went head-to-head this weekend as “Avatar” debuted worldwide alongside one of the worst snowstorms to hit the American Northeast in a decade, but not even the formidable weather could take down director James Cameron’s return to feature filmmaking.

In its first weekend in theaters, “Avatar” managed to earn $73 million nationwide, combining with foreign box office results for a $232.2 million total. Variety describes the result as “the best global launch ever for a non-sequel,” despite being the second best December launch behind Will Smith’s “I Am Legend.” It’s unclear how much the bad weather effected “Avatar’s” final domestic tally, but the coming holiday weekends — both Christmas and New Year’s Day conveniently fall on Fridays this year — should help bolster the movie’s continued success.

Of course, the major question circling around “Avatar” is the budget costs. There are various rumors about how much it cost to produce Cameron’s science fiction epic, ranging from as low as $200 million to as high as $500 million. Regardless, the $232 million worldwide debut is a strong first showing, and the positive vibe from moviegoers and critics alike is only bound to increase the film’s final total.

While the masses flocked to Pandora this weekend, there were other films in theaters. Newcomer romantic comedy “Did You Hear About The Morgans?” landed in fourth place with $7 million, a poor result given the Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant-starring movie’s $58 million budget. Second, third and fifth place belonged to “The Princess and the Frog,” “The Blind Side” and “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” respectively.

“Nine,” the Daniel Day Lewis-starring musical from The Weinstein Company, opened in four locations at $247,000 boasting a per screen average of $61,750, the weekend’s best.

Did you catch “Avatar” or any other films this weekend? Let us know in the comments section or on Twitter!

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