Twentieth Century Fox
James Cameron’s $500 million scifi flick Avatar grossed an estimated $75 million in its second weekend, beating Sherlock Holmes and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel—even though both those films beat previous records for best Christmas opening weekend. Sherlock (starring Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr.) took in $65.4 million, and Alvin an estimated $50.2 million for the weekend, with a five-day opening total of $77 million. Together the three films led the biggest weekend of all time for the domestic box office. It’s Complicated (with Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin) grossed $22.1 million and came in at fourth place. At fifth was Up in the Air, grossing $11.1 million for a cumulative $24.5 million. Nine earned eighth place, grossing just $5.5 million.