WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

1) Avatar - $36 million

2) Legion - $18.2 million

3) The Book Of Eli - $17 million

4) Tooth Fairy - $14.5

5) The Lovely Bones - $8.8 million

6) Sherlock Holmes - $7.1 million

7) Extraordinary Measures - $7 million

8) Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakuel - $6.5 million

9) It's Complicated - $6.1 million

10) The Spy Next Door - $4.7 million

James Cameron had one hell of a week! Not only did his 3D outer-space epic Avatar upset The Hurt Locker at last weeks Golden Globes Awards ceremony as it surpassed everyone's expectations by taking Best Picture and Best Director, the film also managed to surpass The Dark Knight this week as the number two highest grossing film domestically of all-time. With a lifetime gross now of $552 million, Avatar only needs to make roughly another $50 million to take the title from current holder, Cameron's other juggernaut of a film '1997s Titanic, which its likely to do in the next few weeks. The film, which saw a 15.9% drop from last week was in 144 less theaters then it was the previous week but made roughly $11,461 per each of the 3,141 theaters that it was shown in for a weekend total of $36 million. Hot on it's heels however was the new "end of days" film Legion starring Paul Bettany as the fallen angle Michael fighting an army of the un-dead along side Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Charles S. Dutton, Lucas Black, Kate Walsh, Jon Tenney and Adrianne Palicki. The movie made $7,351 per each of the 2,476 theaters that it played in to earn an impressive $18.2 million in it's opening week.

Falling one place from last week is Denzel Washington's post-apocalyptic action film The Book Of Eli directed by The Hughes Brothers and co-starring Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis, which came in at number three on the charts. The film, which had nearly a 48.2% drop from last week managed to earn $5,464 per each of the 3,111 theaters that the movie played in for a weekend total of $17 million brining its total gross so far to around $62 million, just $18 million shy of its estimated production budget. The only other new film to crack the top five this week was the children's film Tooth Fairy starring Dwayne Johnson as a reluctant recruit into the world of pillow visitors also starring Ashley Judd, Billy Crystal and Julie Andrews. The film, which was seen in over 3,340 theaters made roughly $4,336 per theater for an opening weekend take of $14.5 million. Finally, rounding out the top five this week was director Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones based on the beloved book of the same name. The movie dropped 48.3% from last week even though it was added in 8 theaters. The film, which was seen in almost 2,571 theaters made nearly $3,423 per theater for an additional $8.8 million bringing the film's total gross to around $31.6 million in its seventh week of release, just a little under half of what the film cost to make.

Doing very well again this week in limited release was the Oscar contender Crazy Heart, the alcoholic-Country Music Singer redemption film starring Jeff Bridges, which won him a Golden Globe and SAG Award this week for Best Actor and co-stars screen-legend Robert Duvall and Maggie Gyllanhaal. The film had a 120.1% increase in sales this week as the film was added in nearly 46 theaters and earned $15,323 in each of its 93 theaters for a weekend total of $1.4 million, bringing its total box office gross in six weeks up to just under $4 million. Also doing extremely well in limited release is fellow Oscar bait The Last Station, director Michael Hoffman's new drama about the last year of famous Russian author Leo Tolstoy's life and starring Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, James McAvoy, Paul Giamatti and Kerry Condon. The film, which saw a 49.6% increase this week added five theaters earning $13,788 per each of the eight theaters that the film was screened in for a weekend total of $110,300 brining its total earnings to around $230,700 in its second week. However, not fairing so well in its debut week was Extraordinary Measures starring Harrison Ford and Brendan Frasier as a scientist and a father, respectively, trying to cure a rare children's disease before its too late. Based on a true story the film didn't seem to resonate with audiences the same way Sandra Bullock's The Blind Side did late last year. The film was shown in 2,549 theaters and only managed to make $2,746 per theater for a disappointing $7 million in its first week.

Next weekend will see two new films enter into wide release with six films opening in limited release. First up is the Father's revenge film/political thriller Edge Of Darkness starring Mel Gibson, Ray Winston and Danny Huston, directed by Martin Campbell. Also in wide release is the romantic comedy When In Rome starring Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, Danny DeVito and Anjelica Huston. In limited release are the horror films Dread, The Graves, Lake Mungo and Hidden as well as the family film Preacher's Kid and the drama Saint John Of Las Vegas starring Steve Buscemi, Emily Mortimer, Peter Dinklage, Tim Blake Nelson, John Cho and Emmanuelle Chriqui. So check back in seven days to see who comes out on top at the box office next week.