'Avatar' Crosses $300 Million Domestically In The Saturday Box Office Report

1. "Avatar" ($25 million)
2. "Sherlock Holmes" (14.9 million)
3. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" ($13 million)
4. "It's Complicated" ($7.1 million)
5. "The Blind Side" ($4.5 million)

Moviegoers are proving that Pandora is a planet worthy of multiple visits, as James Cameron's "Avatar" managed a first place finish on Friday evening, well on track for its third weekend victory in a row.

Cameron's 3D science fiction fantasy took in $25 million on Friday, bringing the movie's current domestic tally to $308.8 million in just fifteen days. Aside from "Avatar," only two other films have crossed the $300 million threshold quicker — "The Dark Knight" in ten days and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" in fourteen.

Given the stateside performance, "Avatar" is likely to have crossed over $800 million worldwide at this point, though that fact won't be entirely clear until foreign numbers are released on Sunday. Still, with a $476.2 million international gross as of Tuesday combined with the currently known $308.8 million domestic total, it would be a very big surprise if "Avatar" didn't push past $800 million internationally by Sunday's conclusion.

"Sherlock Holmes" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" went head-to-head for second and third place, having previously alternated the positions over the last several days. "Holmes" won out with $14.9 million on Friday night while "Alvin" secured $13 million, but those rankings could easily switch by the end of the weekend. "It's Complicated," the comedy starring Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, held onto fourth place, the same spot it debuted in last weekend.

Fifth place went to "The Blind Side," Sandra Bullock's surprise success that continues to amaze, albeit in less lavish fashion. The movie's return to the elite five meant the departure of "Up in the Air," which earned $4.1 million for sixth place. Thanks to its Friday night performance, "The Blind Side" has earned more than $200 million domestically.

by Josh Wigler (http://moviesblog.mtv.com)