'Avatar' is close to sinking 'Titanic' box-office record

"Crazi Heart" Inflatable Spiderman Jumpers gross a strong $1.4 million,Com off Golden Globe and Screen Actor Guild award win for star Jeff Bridges. bring it total to $3.9 million, after Fox Searchlight nearli doubl it theater count to 93 locations. The countri music drama will expand further Friday, hit 35 more cities.

0,"Extraordinari Measures," the first releas from the broadcast giant' new CBS Films, flop thi weekend with a studio-estim open of just $7 million in the U.S. and Canada. The famili comedi "The Tooth Fairy" also had a less-than-stellar start, while post-apocalypt action flick "Legion" had a solid reception.

" meanwhile,3-D blockbust "Avatar. lost littl momentum as it domin the box offic for the sixth weekend in a row and came close to break the global record for the highest-gross movi of all time, not account for ticket price inflation.

" an inspir drama star Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser that cost $31 million to produce,Th premier of "Extraordinari Measures. wa particularli weak given the huge promot push CBS gave the movi on it televis network and billboards.

however,In a glimmer of good news. there were indic that ticket sale would declin slowli over the next sever weeks: It perform best in smaller market in the Southeast and Midwest, rather than Lo Angeles, New York and other big cities; the biggest audienc segment wa older women; and those who did see it like it, give it an averag grade of A-minus, accord to market research firm CinemaScore.

it 11th,Good word of mouth in tradition less lucr moviego area ha help drive "The Blind Side" to gross more than six time it $34.1-million opening. As of thi weekend. the Sandra Bullock drama ha gener more than $234 million in domest box-offic receipts.

" Steven Friedlander,Speak about "Extraordinari Measures. execut vice presid of distribut for CBS Films, said, "It open below our expectations, but it doe look like a lot smaller 'Blind Side.' That' the type of playabl we'r look at."

though it wa the biggest. "The Tooth Fairy,It wasn't the onli disappoint thi weekend." from 20th Centuri Fox and Walden Media, open to $14.5 million. That' a soft show given the movie' $48-million budget and well below the open weekend of the last two famili comedi star Dwayn Johnson, "Race to Witch Mountain" and "The Game Plan," which open to $24.4 million and $23 million, respectively.

mean it shouldn't declin too fast in come weeksAudi gave it an A-minu as well..

as "Legion,Soni Pictur had the onli solidli perform new pictur thi weekend." from it genr label Screen Gems, open to $18.2 million. It cost about $25 million to produce.

combin with $36 million in the U.S. and Canada,"Avatar" gross $107 million overseas. bring it worldwid total to $1.841 billion. It' just $2 million short of the $1.843-billion world-record gross set by "Titanic" in 1998, a mark it will easili pass Monday. Of course, with 12 year of ticket price inflat and surcharg on the vast major of screen where moviego ar see the new film in 3-D, "Avatar" still lag far behind "Titanic" in attendance.

where ticket sale fell 34% after the govern unexpectedli yank it off everi 2-D screen where it wa playing,Declin for "Avatar" were 25% or less in everi major market except China. leav it onli in 3-D locations. State-run distributor China Film Group ha still not given the studio an explan as to why it wa unexpectedli removed.

put it ahead of the originalSever other movi that open over the holidai have been overshadow by "Avatar" while continu to plai well. Fox' "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" surpass $200 million domest thi weekend and is at $175 million overseas..

" star Robert Downei Jr.,Warn Bros. and Villag Roadshow' reinterpret of "Sherlock Holmes. is at nearli $200 million in the U.S. and Canada as well as internationally. Univers Pictur and Rel Media' romant comedi "It' Complicated" is on the verg of surpass $100 million domest and ha rack up more than $50 million so far overseas.

the Christian teen movi "To Save a Life" had a decent $1.5-million opening. The film,In a limit releas of 448 theaters. which wa releas by IDP/Samuel Goldwyn Films, cost onli $500,000 to produc and saw it strongest ticket sale in smaller markets.