Avatar Takes Fifth Weekend

Denzel Washington's post-apocalyptic thriller, The Book of Eli, couldn't defeat Avatar in its fifth weekend. Avatar is now the third highest grossing movie of all time domestically, passing Star Wars: A New Hope, and is ready to conquer The Dark Knight's $533 million.

Worldwide, Avatar has made $1.6 billion, creeping up to Titanic's $1.8 billion.

As for Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, it did a little better than expected with about $17 million, but still has a long way to go to recoup its $100 million budget.

Jackie Chan's family comedy, The Spy Next Door made a mediocre $9.7 million as it debuted outside the top five. Which is actually pretty good since it is getting a 9% on rotten tomatoes.

Weekend Estimates:
Avatar: $41.3 million ($491.8 million total)
The Book of Eli: $31.6 million ($31.6 million total)
The Lovely Bones: $17 million ($17.5 million total)
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel: $11.5 million ($192.6 million)
Sherlock Holmes: $9.8 million ($180 million total)

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Avatar gets some competition this weekend as two new movies open, and another goes into wide release.

The Book of Eli
Why it might be a hit: Post-apocalyptic movie trailer looks cool
Why it might tank: Early reviews post it a 26% on rottentomates.

The Spy Next Door
Why it might be a hit: Families have to take their kids to see a movie.
Why it might tank: Have you seen the trailer? Current tomato rating of 00% doesn't help either.

The Lovely Bones
Why it might be a hit: Director Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy and even King Kong made a hefty sum of cash.
Why it might tank: Judging by the trailer, the target audience doesn't seem that wide to compensate its rumored $100 million budget.

My Predictions:
Avatar: $32 million
The Book of Eli: $26 million
The Spy Next Door: $14 million
The Lovely Bones: $12 million
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel: $9 million