Box Office, Christmas | featured news

... Leading the pack is Working Title/Universal’s Les Misérables debuting #1 in 2,808 theaters and receiving a coveted ‘A’ CinemaScore from audiences... Well, my insiders say today’s grosses looked like a big $15M to $20M — now more like $18M — for the PG13 film that runs 2 hours and 37 minutes and stars Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, and Russell Crowe.

"True Grit" grossed $4.8 million on Friday, but "Little Fockers" held onto the top spot with $5.1 million.

In Hollywood's biggest-ever box-office weekend, "Avatar" held the top spot while earning only slightly less during its second week of release. According to studio estimates Sunday, James Cameron's 3-D epic earned $75 million for 20th Century Fox, only a 3 percent drop from its opening weekend total of $77.4 million. "Sherlock Holmes" followed close behind with $65.4 million, including a record Christmas Day debut of $24.9 million. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" took in $50.2 million.

Warner Bros.' period action pic "Sherlock Holmes" raked in $24.9 million yesterday, notching the best Christmas day opening ever at the domestic box office. Undeterred by the onslaught of another tentpole in the marketplace, Fox’s "Avatar" dipped 12%, taking $23.5 million off 3,456.