Box Office Records, Weekend Box Office | featured news

Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" led the box office with a haul of $84.8 million, a record-setting opening better than the three previous "Lord of the Rings" films. The Warner Bros. Middle Earth epic was the biggest December opening ever, surpassing Will Smith's "I Am Legend," which opened with $77.2 million in 2007, according to studio estimates Sunday. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" also passed the December opening of "Avatar," which opened with $77 million. Internationally, "The Hobbit" also added $138.2 million, for an impressive debut well north of $200 million.

Bella Swan, James Bond and Abe Lincoln have combined to lift Hollywood to record Thanksgiving revenue at the box office. Kristen Stewart's finale as Bella in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" was No. 1 again with $64 million during the five-day holiday stretch that began Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Paul Thomas Anderson's cult drama "The Master" commanded a huge following in its opening weekend, smashing records on just a handful of screens.

Wow. It certainly didn’t look that way after Thursday’s disappointing midnight screenings, but here we are. “The Avengers” has broken the all-time opening weekend box office record with a phenomenal $200.3M. That’s at least $30M more than the most optimistic projections from box office analysts.

The Dark Knight is dead. Long live the Batman. Since 2008, the Christopher Nolan film featuring posthumous Oscar winner Heath Ledger had held the single-weekend record for domestic box office. “The Dark Knight’s” $158.4-million take topped “Spider-Man 3’s” $151.1-million a year earlier. Now, the Boy Wizard has left both superheroes in the Floo-powder dust.

Hollywood has hustled up a hangover for the record books. "The Hangover Part II" set a new high for comedy debuts with $105.8 million over the long Memorial Day weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Film News: Warner 3D film earns an estimated $61.4 million -- Warner Bros.' 3D epic "Clash of the Titans" muscled its way to the top of the domestic B.O. this Easter weekend, with an estimated $61.4 million at 3,777 locations to become the highest-grossing film during the holiday frame.

"Avatar" grossed yet another strong $30 million over the weekend for a new domestic total of $594.4 million. That stunningly puts James Cameron's blockbuster only days away from passing "Titanic's" U.S. mark of $600 million. "Edge of Darkness" found a solid $17.1 million and "When in Rome" $`12.1 million.

James Cameron's "Avatar" is on a course to sink "Titanic" at the box office. No. 1 for the sixth-straight weekend with $36 million, the 20th Century Fox sci-fi spectacle lifted its domestic total to $552.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. "Avatar" raised its worldwide total to $1.841 billion. That's $2 million shy of first place behind Cameron's last movie, the 1997 shipwreck epic "Titanic," at $1.843 billion.

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.