For the seventh consecutive weekend, "Avatar" was the number one box office draw, propelling its worldwide total over $2 billion. While "Avatar" earned a studio estimated $30 million, Mel Gibson's "Edge of Darkness" posted a fairly unimpressive $17.12 million opening weekend and romantic comedy "When in Rome" managed a weekend intake of just $12 million.
Meanwhile, family comedy "Tooth Fairy" posted a fairly strong second weekend, earning an estimated $10 million - a dip of just 28.6% from its opening weekend.
Even with competition for action-geared audiences from "Edge of Darkness," "Avatar" maintained its complete dominance at the box office over the weekend with a per venue average of $9,759. "Avatar" has now pulled in a previously unimaginable $2.04 billion worldwide and is showing no signs of slowing down in either domestic or foreign markets.
Already the highest grossing worldwide movie ever, "Avatar" will likely topple the $600 million domestic total of "Titanic" before the start of next weekend, which will almost certainly mark the eighth consecutive weekend "Avatar" will sit atop the charts. New release "From Paris With Love" has the best chance to knock "Avatar" out of the number one box office slot, but it is being released at only 2,600 theaters next weekend.
As it stands, "Avatar" has already been the number one box office draw for the most consecutive weekends since "Titanic" was the biggest domestic draw for 15 weekends in 1997-1998. Though big-budget action releases typically earn most of their revenue in one or two weeks at the box office, "Avatar" continues to be an anomaly and will likely promote more big-budget releases in December.
With a per theater average of $5,584, R-rated thriller "Edge of Darkness" faired alright with its targeted demographic, though it struggled with competition from both "Avatar" and "The Book of Eli." Considering "Darkness" carries a production budget of $80 million, a weekend intake of $17 million is definitely on the light side and it will see even more competition from "From Paris With Love" next weekend.
Though "Darkness" clearly was trying to tap into the same audience as January 2009 release "Taken," the R-rating of "Darkness" seems to have been a significant factor; with a PG-13 rating, "Taken" earned $24 million in its opening weekend and remained on the top ten for nine consecutive weekends from January to March.
For Gibson, it was his first wide release in a starring role since "Signs" hauled in $60 million in its opening weekend all the way back in the summer of 2002, which suggests that his status as an elite action draw may not be what it once was.
Romantic comedy "When in Rome" also struggled over the weekend despite a general lack of competition. With "Dear John" opening next weekend, "When in Rome" will have to share its target audience, which should make for a significant decline in box office revenue. Look for "When in Rome" to remain in the top five but to see a dip of more than 50% from its opening totals.
Despite the opening of "Edge of Darkness," R-rated action/thriller "The Book of Eli" retained a fairly impressive hold on its audience. With a dip of 44% from its second weekend in theaters, "Eli" ran its total to $74 million domestically, giving it a legitimate chance at reaching the $100 million domestic plateau by the time it is out of theaters.
In its sixth weekend in theaters, romantic comedy "It's Complicated" pushed past $100 million domestically and likely made its last top ten appearance. "It's Complicated" has also done fairly well in foreign markets for a romantic comedy, which has pushed its worldwide total to $155 million. With "Dear John" opening next weekend, "It's Complicated" should start to see a fairly sharp decline in overall screenings, though it has already solidified itself as a quiet success for distributor Universal.
Next weekend, neither "Dear John" nor "From Paris With Love" likely has a shot at overtaking "Avatar," though the following weekend will almost certainly bring an end to "Avatar" being the top overall draw. That weekend, "The Wolfman," "Valentine's Day" and "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" could all overtake "Avatar" on the box office charts.
Early Studio Box Office Estimates For 1/29 - 1/31 (In millions), [RTT Prediction]:
1) Avatar (Fox): $30 [$25]
2) Edge of Darkness (Warner): $17.12 [$26]
3) When in Rome (Buena Vista): $12.07 [$11]
4) Tooth Fairy (Fox): $10 [$7]
5) The Book of Eli (Warner Brothers): $8.77 [$9]
6) Legion (Sony/Screen Gems): $6.8 [$7.5]
7) The Lovely Bones (Paramount/Dreamworks): $4.74 [$4.8]
8) Sherlock Holmes (Warner Brothers): $4.51 [$4]
9) Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel (Fox): $4 [$3.5]
10) It's Complicated (Universal): $3.72 [$3.3]
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.