"Avatar" had a $41.3 million (£25.4 million) weekend in the US, shooting past "Star Wars" to become the third highest-grossing film of all time in the country.

No. 1 in the domestic box office for the fifth weekend in a row, James Cameron's sci-fi saga raised its domestic total to $491.8 million and is expected to top $500 million after revenues are counted on the Martin Luther King Day holiday on Monday. Worldwide, 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" lifted its total to $1.6 billion, second only to Mr Cameron's last film, 1997's "Titanic," at $1.8 billion.

"One guy makes two movies in 10 years, and they're by far the biggest movies of all time. That's remarkable," said Chris Aronson, head of distribution for the studio.

"Avatar " topped the original "Star Wars", which took in $460.9 million domestically in its original run and several reissues over the years. But factoring in today's higher admission prices, "Star Wars" remains well ahead of "Avatar" on actual number of tickets sold.

"Avatar" now is closing in on "The Dark Knight," No. 2 domestically, with $533.3 million. After that, only Mr Cameron's "Titanic" at $600 million will remain ahead of "Avatar" domestically.

"We'll be proud of our No. 3 slot," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which released "The Dark Knight" and has hopes for more in the Batman franchise from its director, Christopher Nolan. "I can just give Chris Nolan a nudge that he's got to raise the bar."

Mr Nolan's sci-fi tale "Inception" with Leonardo DiCaprio opens in July.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theatres, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Tuesday.

1. "Avatar," $41.3 million.

2. "The Book of Eli," $31.6 million.

3. "The Lovely Bones," $17.1 million.

4. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," $11.5 million.

5. "Sherlock Holmes," $9.8 million.

6. "The Spy Next Door," $9.7 million.

7. "It's Complicated," $7.7 million.

8. "Leap Year," $5.8 million.

9. "The Blind Side," $5.6 million.

10. "Up in the Air," $5.5 million.



source:telegraph.co.uk