EGP nudges higher vs. USD in early Thursday trading    Global electricity demand to surge through 2026 – IEA    Japan's c. bank holds key interest rate    Egypt, US FMs discuss Gaza crisis, Nile water security    Egypt's Electricity Ministry says new power cable for Giza area operational    Egypt exports first high-tech potato seeds to Uzbekistan after opening market    Modon Holding posts AED 2.1bn net profit in H1 2025    Egypt's Al-Sisi, Italian defence minister discuss Gaza, security cooperation    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, Nile dam with US senators    Aid airdrops intensify as famine deepens in Gaza amid mounting international criticism    Health minister showcases AI's impact on healthcare at Huawei Cloud Summit    On anti-trafficking day, Egypt's PM calls fight a 'moral and humanitarian duty'    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Sudan's ambassador to Egypt holds reconstruction talks on with Arab League    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Sisi sends letter to Nigerian president affirming strategic ties    Egypt, Senegal sign pharma MoU to unify regulatory standards    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt, Somalia discuss closer environmental cooperation    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







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`Avatar' rules with $68.3M, tops $1B worldwide
Published in Daily News Egypt on 04 - 01 - 2010

James Cameron s science-fiction epic Avatar had another stellar weekend with $68.3 million domestically, shooting past $1 billion worldwide, only the fifth movie ever to hit that mark.
No. 1 for the third-straight weekend, 20th Century Fox s Avatar raised its domestic total to $352.1 million after just 17 days. The film added $133 million overseas to lift its international haul to $670 million, for a worldwide gross of $1.02 billion.
Avatar opened two weekends earlier with $77 million, a strong start but far below dozens of other blockbusters that debuted as high as $158 million. But business for other blockbusters usually tumbles in following weekends, while Avatar revenues barely dropped over the busy Christmas and New Year s weekends.
It s like a runaway freight train. It just keeps doing business, said Fox distribution executive Bert Livingston. Here s what s happening: I think everybody has to see 'Avatar' once. Even people who don t normally go to the movies, they ve heard about it and are saying, 'I have to see it.' Then there s those people seeing it multiple times.
Avatar was Cameron s first film since 1997 s Titanic, the biggest modern blockbuster with $1.8 billion worldwide.
Cameron now is the only filmmaker to direct two movies that have topped $1 billion. Along with Titanic, the others are The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King at $1.13 billion, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man s Chest at $1.06 billion and The Dark Knight at a fraction over $1 billion, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.
With Avatar closing in on No. 2 film The Return of the King, Cameron is in striking distance of having the two top-grossing movies globally.
Avatar has had a price advantage over those other billion-dollar movies. About 75 percent of its domestic business has come from theaters showing it in digital 3-D presentation, those tickets typically costing a few dollars more than admissions for the 2-D version.
Finishing at No. 2 for the weekend was Robert Downey Jr. s crime caper Sherlock Holmes with $38.4 million. The Warner Bros. film lifted its domestic total to $140.7 million after 10 days in theaters.
In third place was 20th Century Fox s family tale Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel with $36.6 million. It raised its 10-day total to $157.3 million.
The top-three movies, along with solid holdovers that included Universal s It s Complicated at No. 4 with $18.7 million, steered Hollywood to a big start to 2010 after a year of record revenue.
Hollywood finished 2009 with $10.6 billion domestically, easily surpassing the previous record of $9.7 billion in 2007, according to Hollywood.com.
Factoring in today s higher admission prices, the year was strong but not a modern record-breaker for number of tickets sold. According to Hollywood.com, domestic admissions came in at 1.42 billion in 2009, the most in the last five years, though well below the modern record of 1.6 billion in 2002.
In Hollywood s glory years of the 1930s and 40s, before television eroded the movie audience, estimated movie attendance ran as high as 4 billion some years.
Studios began 2010 with a headstart over last year. Overall revenues came in at $230 million, up 50 percent from New Year s weekend in 2009, when Marley & Me was No. 1 with $24.3 million.
Like Titanic 12 years ago, Avatar has fairly clear sailing now that the holidays are over. Hollywood is entering a slow season, when fewer big movies arrive and competition is lighter.
Titanic lingered as the No. 1 film for months leading up to the Academy Awards, where it won 11 Oscars, including best picture and director.
Avatar also proved a critical favorite with strong Oscar potential. Cameron broke new ground in combining live-action, digitally-enhanced performances, visual effects and 3-D presentation to immerse viewers in his futuristic tale of humans and aliens on a distant moon.
Leave it to James Cameron to do this. To not only set the technical world on fire, the visual world on fire, but also the box-office world on fire 12 years after Titanic, said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. -AP


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