AVATAR -- another top grossing film by Director James Cameron
Los Angeles — Science-fiction epic “Avatar” boomed way past the $500-million mark at the North American box office this weekend, pushing its way towards an all-time record.
Box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said James Cameron’s groundbreaking 3-D spectacular added to its haul over the four-day Martin Luther King Holiday weekend with another $54.4 million.
In North Amerca, the movie has earned 504.9 million dollars in only 32 days, and is now 3rd to 2008 Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” ($533.3 million) and “Titanic” ($600.8 million).
“The records are starting to look inevitable now – Cameron will end up sinking his own ship,” quipped Exhibitor Relations chief analyst Jeff Bock in reference to “Avatar’s” pursuit of “Titanic.”
The box office numbers have moved beyond the usual demographics. People who would never normally go to see a science fiction film or a film in 3-D are going to see ‘Avatar’ because they want to be part of the conversation.
“And it is also attracting repeat business — people going to see it two, three, four or five times. That is extremely unusual for a film released outside the summer season.”
This weekend’s stellar performance came as “Avatar” celebrated its best drama and best director accolades at Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, confirming the film’s status as an Oscars front-runner.
