Tops at the Box Office

As if proof was needed how much better this crop of Christmas season movies were compared to last year, overall box office ratcheted up 36% compared to 2008. Thanks to a fairly powerful threesome of heavy hitting newcomers and a force of nature only in it's second week of release, they helped mark a new weekend sales record with $278M. The old record of $260M was set in July 2008.

1. Avatar- $75M/$212M

Grossing a worldwide total of $615.2M, James Cameron's sci-fi adventure appears to be unstoppable, only dropping a mere 2.6% from last week. Incredible. Undoubtedly the IMAX version of the film is a big boost to these numbers, accounting for $12M of that number over the weekend alone, and the 3-D version roughly 78% of total business. The interesting thing is that we're now entering into the duldrums of the movie season, when the studios crank out the film's they usually have little faith in. So there's a real chance Avatar could be #1 again next week, and in the top 3 or 4 for weeks to come.

2. Sherlock Holmes- $65.4M

At first it seemed as if the wiley detective would best the blue-skinned aliens, boasting a new Christmas opening day record of $25M, but the clues didn't amount to much over the weekend. Still, this is the biggest debut ever for director Guy Ritchie, and I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's the highest grossing Sherlock Holmes movie ever. Just a hunch.

3. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel- $50.2M/$77.1M

Well, the little kids had to go spend their gift cards on something, right? Getting off to an early start against it's competitors, Alvin seems well on it's way to matching the $360M worldwide gross of it's predecessor. That's way too much for a friggin' chipmunk movie, folks. To put Alvin's success in perspective, the Squeakquel ranks as the 7th best December opening of all-time. Guh.

4. It's Complicated- $22.1M

Nancy Meyers latest comedy for old folks got off to a strong start, pulling in $27M worldwide. Typically, Meryl Streep films hold on to their audiences well, and generally positive word of mouth will probably keep this one hanging around for awhile, in the same way Julie and Julia did.

5. Up in the Air- $11.8M/$24.5M

I spoke, and the people listened! Ok, maybe not, but after finally expanding to wide release, Jason Reitman's follow-up to Juno jumped up 3 spots in the charts. Adding another 1700 theatres to it's count, the critical darling average well over $6,000 per site. Not too shabby. Everyone really needs to check this one out. It's a shame to see it getting trounced by....Alvin.

6. The Blind Side- $11.7M/$184M

Did anyone think this film would be half as successful as it's become? I sure as hell didn't.

7. The Princess and the Frog- $8.68M/$63.4M

I'd be curious to know what the analysts at Disney think about these numbers. On the one hand, the overall tally isn't bad, but it's nothing compared to the studio's golden age of the 90s. I really believe they would've been better served holding off on this until February when the competition had died down.

8. Nine- $5.54M/$5.92M

Yowza. Finally expanding to wide release, Rob Marshall's musical romp did more than just break a leg, it might've broken a back or two as well. The studio says that the film failed to connect with people in the midwest. Really? You mean there's no demand for a huge, glitzy Hollywood theater production set in Italy out there in Green Bay? Surely you jest.

9. Did You Hear About the Morgans?- $5M/$15.6M

I heard their movie tanked and that they suck.

10. Invictus- $4.39M/$23.4M

This might be the most disappointing Clint Eastwood film performance ever, as he's usually a surefire bet this time of year. Invictus, for whatever reason and I'm guessing it has to do with the rugby and mixed reviews, totally failed to connect with any audience on any level.