Newly crowned Golden Globe winner "Avatar" broke the $500 million mark in record time at the North American box office on Monday, quickly closing in on the all-time record held by "Titanic" for 12 years.
Distributor 20th Century Fox said James Cameron's sci-fi spectacular earned an estimated $54.6 million during the four-day U.S. Martin Luther King holiday, leading the box office for a fifth consecutive weekend.
Its total rose to $505.1 million after 32 days. The Batman sequel "The Dark Knight" held the $500 million speed record, taking 45 days in 2008.
The News Corp-owned studio expects "Avatar" to surpass the $533 million haul of "The Dark Knight" next weekend, leaving only Cameron's "Titanic" ahead of it with $601 million. Data are not adjusted for inflation, and "Avatar" additionally benefits from premium pricing for 3-D screenings.
The international total for "Avatar" rose to $1.12 billion after a $129 million weekend. The worldwide total stands at $1.613 billion, trailing "Titanic" by just $230 million.
"Avatar" won Golden Globes on Sunday for best drama and director. All eyes are now on the Feb. 2 announcement of the Academy Award nominations.
"BOOK OF ELI" OPENS AT NO. 2
Denzel Washington's "The Book of Eli" opened at No. 2 in North America with $38.0 million for the four-day period, the actor's second-best opening after the three-day $43 million launch of 2007's "American Gangster." Young men accounted for about two-thirds of the audience for the Christian-themed apocalyptic thriller, said distributor Warner Bros. Pictures.
The $80 million film was produced by FedEx Corp Chairman Fred Smith's Alcon Prods., and distributed for a fee by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc.
Director Peter Jackson's adaptation of "The Lovely Bones" took the No. 3 spot with $20.5 million in its first weekend of national release, as the "Twilight" crowd flocked to the supernatural murder story.
Distributor Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc, said women accounted for almost three-quarters of the audience, and 40 percent of moviegoers were aged under 20.
The big-screen version of the Alice Sebold novel about a murdered girl had played in a total of three theaters in New York and Los Angeles for the past five weeks. Its total now stands at $21 million.
"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" slipped one place to No. 4 with $15 million in its fourth weekend. The Fox film has earned $196.1 million to date, nearing the $217 million total of its 2007 predecessor.
The only other major new release was Hong Kong action hero Jackie Chan's family comedy "The Spy Next Door," which opened at No. 5 with a modest $13 million. It was released by Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, which received a distribution fee from the film's closely held producer Relativity Media.