Movie fans continued to spend beaucoup dough at theaters on this Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. After beating back a threat from the new flick, “The Book of Eli,” James Cameron’s mega-hit, “Avatar” remains the number one film in the country with a take of $41.3 million. “Avatar” is the top film in the country for the fifth straight week.
“The Book of Eli” is a post-apocalyptic action adventure/drama about a drifter who fights his way across America to protect a sacred book that holds the power to save humankind. Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman star. It’s directed by the Hughes brothers, Albert and Allen, and written by Gary Whitta.
On Friday, “The Book of Eli” opened with an estimated $11.7 million beating “Avatar” which took in about $10.5 million that day. Even though “The Book of Eli” slipped to second, behind “Avatar” it made a bundle over the weekend, around $31.6 million.
“The Lovely Bones,” based on the bestselling novel by Alice Sebold, cracked the top five in its sixth week, landing in third place with $17 million. It’s about a teenage girl who is brutally murdered and later watches her family, friends, and killer from heaven.
The animated family film, “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” ended up in fourth with $11.5 million, followed by the drama, Sherlock Holmes” in fifth with $9.8 million.
