Weekend Recap: World of “Avatar” raids ours for cash

As expected, the much-hyped revolutionary sci-fi action film Avatar gave a boost to a disappointing December box office so far. The total was $77 million, right what I initially thought it would have made had there not been 3D ticket sales and a pretty incredible buzz. The real feat was worldwide, however, where Avatar make a killing with $241 million total.

Avatar has clearly won over audiences too. It has a killer 8.9 rating on imdb and an 84 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Although at first I was skeptical of the Golden Globes awarding it a Best Motion Picture – Drama nomination, I’ve since seen it and think there’s no reason it shouldn’t make the Oscar’s expanded list of 10 Best Picture nominees. It will earn a handful of technical nominations (and awards) and should be rewarded that much at the least.

1. Avatar – $77 M (weekend) … $77 M (gross)
2. The Princess and the Frog – $12.2 M … $44.7 M
3. The Blind Side – $10 M … $164.7 M
4. Did You Hear About the Morgans? – $6.6 M … $6.6 M
5. The Twilight Saga: New Moon – $4.4 M … $274.6 M
6. Invictus – $4.2 M … $15.8 M
7. A Christmas Carol – $3.4 M … $130.8 M
8. Up in the Air – $3.2 M … $8.2 M
9. Brothers – $2.9 M … $22.3 M
10. Old Dogs – $2.3 M … $43.6 M

The other newcomer, “Morgans,” managed just $6 M while also earning some of the most scathing reviews of 2009. With a wider release, Up in the Air also jumped into the Top 10 at No. 8 with $3.2 million in just 175 theaters. Expect it to stay there for a number of weeks up until Oscar season. Read my view of this fantastic picture here.

As Christmas nears, stick with me to help sort you through all the holiday hoopla at theaters. Look for an early weekend preview on Wednesday. After that, I’ll have my guide to the first couple months of 2010 and all the Oscar buzz.