Play Video Movies Video:Streep, Baldwin Shine In 'It's Complicated' CBS 2 New York Play Video Movies Video:Family: Brittany Murphy had 'flu-like symptoms' KGW NewsChannel 8 Portland, Ore. Play Video Movies Video:An Oscar Preview: Martin and Baldwin ABC News 26 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – British director Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes" set a Christmas Day sales record at the box office in North America, taking a narrow lead over last weekend's champ, "Avatar," according to early estimates released on Saturday.

"Sherlock Holmes," in which Robert Downey Jr. reinvents the ascetic Victorian sleuth as a dashing superhero, earned $24.9 million during its first day of release on Friday, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said.

The record for a Christmas Day opening was set last year when "Marley and Me" launched with $14.4 million.

"Avatar" earned $23.5 million on Friday, taking the eight-day total for director James Cameron's costly 3-D extravaganza to $160.8 million, said 20th Century Fox.

Fox also released "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," which opened at No. 3 with $14.5 million. The family-oriented sequel got an early start on the holiday by opening on Wednesday, and its total stands at $41.3 million.

Betty Thomas directed the follow-up to the 2007 live-action animated hit that grossed more than $360 million worldwide.

Another new release, director Nancy Meyers' "It's Complicated," followed at No. 4 after earning $7.1 million during its first day on Friday. The Universal Pictures comedy stars Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.

"Up in the Air" rose three places to No. 5 in its first weekend of national release, with Friday sales of $3.7 million. Director Jason Reitman's meditation on love and loneliness in corporate America has earned $16.4 million since Paramount Pictures released it in 15 theaters on December 4.

The studios will release data for the Friday-Sunday period on Sunday.

Warner Bros. is a unit of Time Warner Inc.. 20th Century Fox is a unit of News Corp.. Universal Pictures is a unit of General Electric Co.. Paramount Pictures is a unit of Viacom Inc..

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; editing by Paul Simao)

source : us.rd.yahoo.com

Details :
Submited at Saturday, December 26th, 2009 at 3:00 pm on Movie News by natalia
Comment RSS 2.0 - leave a comment - trackback