It’s not really surprising Avatar is #1 yet again, making it four weekends in a row, but the fact its closest competitor is already $7.5 million behind after Friday estimates is impressive no matter how you look at it.
Variety has the top five earners at the Friday box with Avatar in the lead with $13.3 million and what I am going to assume will translate to around $46 million for the weekend, which means we are looking at a 32% decrease from last weekend. As a result, Avatar will jump from the #10 slot on the all-time domestic gross chart to #7 (#85 adjusted for inflation), just behind Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace with a box-office tally somewhere around $426 million. It still has some work to do to catch Titanic, which will still hold an approximately $174 million advantage.
In second place was the first of the new releases as the vampire actioner Daybreakers opened with an estimated $5.8 million and I wouldn’t be surprised if it bumps down to #3 or #4 as Sherlock Holmes is right behind it with $5.1 million.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel earned $3.5 million on Friday and will probably do a bit better over the weekend and earn upwards of $15 million, challenging Daybreakers for that third slot.
The Leap Year edged out It’s Complicated just barely as they two took in an estimated $3.3 and $3.2 respectively.
The week’s other new wide release, Youth in Revolt earned the seventh slot with $2.7 million from 1,873 theaters.
The estimates for all of Friday’s top ten are listed directly below and you can check back here on Sunday as Laremy will be posting his weekend wrap-up Sunday morning.
- Avatar ($13.3million)
- Daybreakers ($5.8 million)
- Sherlock Holmes ($5.1 million)
- Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squealquel ($3.5 million)
- Leap Year ($3.3 million)
- It’s Complicated ($3.2 million)
- Youth in Revolt ($2.7 million)
- Blind Side ($2.2 million)
- Up In The Air ($2.1 million)
- Princess And The Frog ($956,000)
