Avatar Steamrolling Through Box-office, Could it Earn $1 Billion?

James Cameron, Avatar, Billion, Titanic, Pandora, Aliens, Fox, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars

James Cameron’s latest special effects laden flick has been getting great reviews as well as lots of income even though there’s a blizzard throughout the United States.

20th Century Fox spent over $400 million to create the film, which is probably going to make its money back at the very least. Some predict that it could even go over the billion mark when its all said and done.  The Los Angeles Times said:

The film’s $73-million domestic gross was, like every movie in the market, significantly affected Saturday by snowstorms that kept East Coast audiences, from Washington, D.C., through New England, off the roads. Grosses were noticeably lower in Washington, Philadelphia and Baltimore — as well as in New Orleans and Dallas due to the Cowboys-Saints match-up Saturday, which had been hotly anticipated.

Nonetheless, it was a solid performance, the second-biggest for December. Perhaps more importantly, those who saw the movie enjoyed it. Every demographic gave “Avatar” an average grade of A, according to market research firm CinemaScore, meaning those who didn’t turn out for opening weekend will be getting strong recommendations from those who did. The combination of Christmas falling on a Friday and positive word of mouth has Fox executives buzzing that “Avatar” could gross nearly as much on its second weekend as its first and hit $200 million by the end of the year in the U.S. and Canada.

However, lots of Avatar’s revenue will come from its worldwide opening. Reuters.com says:

“Avatar” edged ahead of 2006′s “The Da Vinci Code” ($232.1 million) among worldwide openings, while the disaster picture “2012″ slipped to No. 11 with $230.5 million. If the number is confirmed when final data are issued on Monday, “Avatar” will set a new opening record for a nonsequel.

The record for a worldwide opening is $394 million, set in July by “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” The “Avatar” opening also fell far short of the $275 million opening for “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” last month.

Other movies this weekend did moderately, says the NY Times:

“Avatar,” a story of love and war set on a distant moon, has been cheered by critics for the way it uses 3-D technology to immerse viewers in a new world. Industry veterans have left screenings comparing the film to “Star Wars” or “Jurassic Park,” pictures that instilled audiences with “How did they do that?” awe.

The animated musical “The Princess and the Frog” (Walwww.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/movies/21box.htmlt Disney) was second at the weekend box office with about $12.2 million in ticket sales for a new total of $44.8 million, according to multiplex analysts at Hollywood.com. The runaway hit “The Blind Side”(Alcon Entertainment) was third with about $10 million for a new total of $164.7 million.