Movie News & Gossip

NEW YORK - On a weekend that shattered box-office records, "Avatar," in its second week of release, trumped the debuts of "Sherlock Holmes," "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" and "It's Complicated."

"Avatar" earned $75.6 million, barely dropping from its opening weekend haul of $77.4 million. In its first 10 days of release, it's made $212.7 million for 20th Century Fox.

NEW YORK - It was a memorable and merry Christmas in Hollywood as moviegoers shattered box-office records, responding in droves to a diverse array of high-profile releases over the holiday weekend.

The estimated $278 million in weekend box-office revenue broke the previous record of roughly $253 million set in July 2008, the weekend "The Dark Knight" was released.

NEW YORK - It was a memorable and merry Christmas in Hollywood as moviegoers shattered box-office records, responding in droves to a diverse array of high-profile releases over the holiday weekend.

The estimated $278 million in weekend box-office revenue broke the previous record of roughly $253 million set in July 2008, the weekend "The Dark Knight" was released.

NEW YORK - In Hollywood's biggest-ever box-office weekend, "Avatar" held the top spot while earning only slightly less during its second week of release.

According to studio estimates Sunday, James Cameron's 3-D epic earned $75 million for 20th Century Fox, only a 3 percent drop from its opening weekend total of $77.4 million.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British director Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes" set a Christmas Day sales record at the box office in North America, taking a narrow lead over last weekend's champ, "Avatar," according to early estimates released on Saturday.

"Sherlock Holmes," in which Robert Downey Jr. reinvents the ascetic Victorian sleuth as a dashing superhero, earned $24.9 million during its first day of release on Friday, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Like so many pricey Christmas presents, Hollywood opens a pair of wide releases Friday, "Sherlock Holmes" and "It's Complicated." A third -- "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" -- opens Wednesday to get a jump on the holiday weekend.

Warner Bros.' "Sherlock Holmes," starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, is the strongest candidate to top the three-day session, eyeing $50 million or more through Sunday. The film appears to boast broad prerelease interest, though critical reaction bears watching.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Audiences have given Hollywood a big present in advance of Christmas -- U.S. and Canadian movie ticket sales for 2009 were expected to cross the annual $10 billion mark on Tuesday night for the first time.

Already, ticket sales have topped 2008's $9.63 billion as moviegoers flocked to "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," the year's top seller in the United States and Canada and "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," among many others.

LOS ANGELES - Hollywood is crossing a new milestone as domestic revenues top $10 billion for the first time.

Box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com projected that 2009 receipts would pass that mark Tuesday.