Total Days Above $10m for Major Films

Depending on how well it holds up on Dec. 24th, Avatar could end up with the most straight days above $10m, a record currently held by Transformers 2 with 12. It could also surpass The Dark Knight as the film with the most overall days above $10m, with 15.

This is not an exhaustive list, but, total days above $10m for major films:

TDK 15 (11 straight)
LOTR: ROTK 15
Titanic 14
LOTR: Two Towers 14
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 13
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 12 (12 straight)
POTC: Dead Man's Chest 12 (10 straight)
Shrek 2 12
Meet the Fockers 12
LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring 12
Spider-Man 11 (two days it was at $9.96m and 9.95m, so almost 13!)
Spider-Man 2 11
The Passion of the Christ 11
Harry Potter 1 (Sorcerer's Stone) 11
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith 10
Night at the Museum 10 Transformers 9
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones 9
Independence Day 9
Spider-Man 3 8
Shrek The Third 8
POTC: Curse of the Black Pearl 8
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 8
The Matrix Reloaded 8
The Twilight Saga: New Moon 8
The Incredibles 8
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 8
How the Grinch Stole Christmas 8
POTC: At World's End 7 (+ 1 day previews)
Shrek 7
Jurassic Park 7
Finding Nemo 7
Iron Man 7
Up 7
Bruce Almighty 7

Avatar Opening Weekend

Avatar's opening is very, very good. Unfortunately, the film opened during an ice storm, and the effect is apparent in the Saturday and Sunday drops (an estimated -5% and -20%). The film would almost certainly have increased on Saturday and dropped less on Sunday had it not been for the bad weather.

Boxoffice.com has an interesting bit that gives a sense of how badly the box office was affected by the weather this weekend:

Grosses in New York dropped 18 percent from Friday to Saturday, Philadelphia was down 57 percent, Washington, DC fell 75 percent and Baltimore dipped 86 percent.

This bodes well for the film's legs, however, as people who had to stay away from theatres this weekend will find the time to check the film out over the holidays. The film's reception thus far is stellar:

Word of mouth is glowingAvatar received an A rating across all quadrants as well as a few A+ ratings on Cinema Score.

"Our exit polls are probably as good as, or better than, any I've ever seen," adds Aronson.

A gross of $300m+ is all but guaranteed now, although the film will probably not have the strength to get past $400m. Much, however, will depend on how the film performs throughout the first three months of 2010 leading up to the Oscars, for which it looks to be nominated in several categories.

At any rate, the film is already a major success for James Cameron, whose Titanic remains by far the biggest film of all time. Avatar is also doing very well overseas. Per Screen Daily:

Avatar recorded the sixth highest day-and-date launch in history as Fox International’s epic adventure grossed an estimated $159.2m from 106 markets.

Combined with the $73m North American debut, James Cameron’s film has amassed $232.2m worldwide in its first weekend and should see Fox International past the $2bn mark by Monday.

It's too early to determine how far the film will go on with these opening figures, but it looks headed for at least $800m worldwide, with a shot at $900. In short, it's a hit.

Now, about the weekend gross: Avatar registered the 31st biggest opening weekend of all time in North America, with $73m. This also marks the 6th biggest opening of 2009. The film also registered the 2nd biggest opening of all time among December releases, falling just behind I Am Legen's $77m but ending up ahead of Return of the King's $72.6m. It would most likely have claimed that record had it not been for the bad weather.

A more impressive achievement, in my opinion, is the fact that Avatar had the third largest opening of all time for releases with a theatre count of less than 3,500:

Just a note: 2001's Planet of the Apes opened in exactly 3,500 theatres with an incredible $68.5m.

It will be very exciting to track Avatar's performance, so stay tuned!

Avatar Weekend (December 18th-29th, 2009)

A pretty depressed weekend, with top 12 estimates coming out to $125.6m. Weekend stimates are available here.

One line performance reviews:

Avatar: very good and promising opening, and particularly impressive given that it is, due to the weather, deflated.

The Princes and the Frog: A big drop, but the film will recover over the holidays.

The Blind Side: A good drop yet again, and affirms the film's standing as one of the most impressive performers in recent years.

Did You Hear About the Morgans?: A poor but not unexpected opening.

New Moon: A modest drop; the film still has a shot at $300m.

Invictus: A steep drop for a film of this kind; it is losing momentum.

A Christmas Carol: A bad drop; the film will not recover, given that this is the pre-Christmas weekend and the film will be dated this time next week.

Up in the Air: A good expansion, and quite promising; various awards leading up to the Oscars will keep this one going for some time.

Brothers, Old Dogs, Armored: Tepid to terrible numbers; will fade away quickly

2012: Was obviously affected by Avatar and the winter storm, but no matter-the film is a success in North America and a massive hit internationally.

Precious: A disappointing expansion; Lionsgate basically dropped the ball on this film, and it is unlikely to pick up momentum, as it has already been heavily publicized.

Nine: An excellent opening average of $61,750, and it looks to be quite promising.

Young Victoria: A tepid opening, with just a $7,500 average in 20 theatres.

Lovely Bones: A 65% drop in limited release? Terrible. Just terrible. The film is finished.

Overall, aside from Avatar, a fairly dull weekend.