Avatar Wins 7th Friday Box Office With $7.5M; Edge of Darkness 2nd at $5.7M

Based on studio estimates Avatar has won Friday’s box office derby with $7.5M, a drop of only 17% from the previous Friday and a number that tracks with Avatar reaching a figure of $29M for the weekend — which is $2-3M higher than the $26m that was the average predicted by box office prophets across the spectrum going into the weekend.  $29M would dethrone Titanic for the highest 7th weekend ever (Titanic notched $25m) and would leave Avatar $7.5M short of Titanic’s US record of $600.7M.  If Avatar continues to lose only 17% versus the previous week, it will pass Titanic on February 4, its 48th day in release.  Interestingly — on Titanic’s 48th day in release it had earned $313M, representing 52% of its eventual total.  If Avatar on its 48th day had earned 52% of its eventual total — that eventual total would be $1.15B — a figure no one really expects it to reach.  But a final number of a pretty astonishing $875M would be achieved if Avatar performs only half as well as Titanic did from its 50th day onward.  Avatar would need a final gross of $957M to surpass Titanic on an “adjusted for inflation” basis.