We're really running out of ways to write that Avatar topped the US box office at the weekend, but our tired brains and worn-to-the-nub fingers have had to do it again: James Cameron's latest won out yet again, beating off competition from angel horror-thriller Legion (which did okay) and Dwayne Johnson family comedy The Tooth Fairy (which didn't).
Avatar scooped up an additional $36 million across the three days to bring its domestic tally up to $552.8 million, easing it out ahead of The Dark Knight as the second-highest-grossing film in the US.
Internationally speaking (as in, outside the US), it has actually swept past Titanic, earning $1.28 billion, compared to the sinking ship's $1.24 billion. Now all it has to do is hang on for a couple more days, and it finally conquer even Titanic's worldwide record. Take that, James Cameron! Ahahahahaaa! Not so bloody smug and king-of-the-world now, are we! Ahaaa…..oh, right. Yeah. So… yay?
Getting back to other films, because there were indeed other movies showing, Legion swooped in to take second place with $18.2 million, which will be good news for Sony's Screen Gems department as it overcame some bad reviews to make a decent first return on a moderately budgeted pic.
Arriving to even worse reviews and less cash was Dwayne Johnson's latest stab at the family comedy market, The Tooth Fairy. Even the sight of him with wings (and the incredible drawing power of Stephen Merchant) wasn't enough to push it above fourth and $14.5 million. Still, that's not a complete flop.
Talking of disappointments, you have to put on cave-diving gear and clamber down three places to find Extraordinary Measures, the Harrison Ford/Brendan Fraser medical drama. It might have been based on an uplifting true story, but it looked like a TV Movie and it didn't grab decent buzz, limping in with $7 million.
That was it for the new releases. **Book Of Eli **held decently, lodging in third for $17 million, while **The Lovely Bones **continued to rebound slightly, sitting in fifth place with $8.8 million.