Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes took advantage of Christmas’ falling on a Friday this year to set a single-day record for the holiday with a $24.9 million domestic haul. In second place, Avatar kicked off its sophomore weekend with a lean 12 percent dip from last week, bringing its cume to $160.8 after eight days. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel slid to third place with $14.5 million after briefly grabbing the top spot on Wednesday. At fourth place with $7.1 million, the Meryl Streep-Alec Baldwin comedy It’s Complicated bested the $5.3 million first-day gross of writer-director Nancy Meyers’ Something’s Gotta Give in 2003. And rounding out the top five, the George Clooney dramedy Up in the Air soared into wide release with $3.6 million at 1,873 sites. Be sure to check back tomorrow for a full weekend recap.
Dec 26
2009
06:15 PM ET
Box office report: 'Sherlock Holmes' sets Christmas Day record with $24.9 million
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Wow,I didn’t see that coming for Sherlock Holmes.It looks really good though thanks to RDJ.
SH boxo is because of Robert Downey Jr. The public loves him.
Please, this movie is terrible, and is Sherlock in name only. If you all want good Sherlock Holmes watch Jeremy Brett’s portrayal in the 80s BBC tv episodes – THAT is how Sherlock should be done. This movie reminded me of the lame Wild, Wild West with Will Smith. Enough Said.
Stephanie is 100% on the money. Brett is Holmes and this movie is a terrible joke. Having said that, I still like Robert Downey Jr. in most of his films.
The movie was great! I love people that post without even going to see it.
@Bing – I saw Sherlock Holmes, and yes it is bad, truly awful. Jeremy Brett’s portrayal was the definitive version – and showcased actual sleuthing, not lame slow motion action sequences detailing how he impaired someone.
if you go into the movie theater with the attitude of thinking its going to suck, then you are going to spend your entire time watching every little quirk in the movie instead of actually enjoying yourself for crisake.
that movie was awesome and dont come compare it to that lame ass wild wild west not even close sherlock was highly entertaining and funny with lots of action
I’m sorry Stephanie, but Guy Ritche does make films geared towards men mostly… That’s why they tend to be more awesome… lol stick to your BBC special.
I love Jeremy Brett as Holmes. His is the definitely the definitive portrayal. Having said that I can’t wait to see this movie because I’m going into it knowing exactly what I’m going to get. It looks like a lot of fun. Great action sequences, set in my beloved home town, London, and RD Jr nakee on a bed. What’s not to love?
The movie is actually closer to the original stories than most people realize. People complain about the action being ramped up, but those stories had action scenes, except they were of the time just as the new film’s action is of our time. I mean, this was a series where Holmes and Moriarty’s big confrontation was not a battle of wits, but a freakin’ fist fight!
In fact, Holmes is more like an actually smart Dwight Schrute the way Doyle wrote him, boasting about his martial arts skills as much as his keen intellect. It was the movies and TV shows that made him the poncy, hat-wearing stiff that most people think he is.
Besides, do people not remember that Basil Rathbone battled Nazis in his Holmes movies?!
I’m sorry you’re so shallow and narrow minded to see that this movie is actually decent. God forbid someone puts an entertaining twist on an old classic. I feel bad for pathetic people like you…oh wait no I don’t.
Stephanie is right, this movie was a movie that used Sherlock as a cover only. Jeremy Brett’s 80s Sherlock had suspense and thrills without cheap action shots. Sometimes old classics should be left alone, there was no need to put a ‘twist’ on it. Hollywood should just come up with new ideas.
You people. Seriously? The point of Sherlock Holmes is that he’s a savant like detective. I guess it’s hard for tardos such as yourselves to sit through a movie based on dialogue and critical thinking rather than abs and explosions.
Stephanie is obviously biased being British. Yes, Jeremy Brett is England’s one and only Sherlock.
For the rest of us ‘commoners’ Robert Downey Jr. was just great.
This movie rocks!!
@JessSayin – No, I’m American, I guess the moniker ‘Sephanie Tanner’ as in from Full House was not a clue, Jeremy Brett’s version was shown on PBS. Most fans of Sherlock widely agree Jeremy Brett gave the best performance. Make no mistake, this movie is just a vanity vehicle for Robert Downey.
I thought the movie was really great. All of the acting was good as were the amazing backdrops and well written plot. And unlike some people I go to the movie before I post rude things about it.
You obviously did not read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s book – the movie rocks!
I don’t think RDJ has a good british accent shortpeopledate
There are literally hundreds of interpretations of Sherlock Holmes. Personally, I found this one to be pretty refreshing. It’s nice to see something different – as you’ve said, the “definitive” Holmes already exists, so why bother trying to top it?
Brett is the Holmes from the books. But who wants a movie that follows the book like a cooking recipe without using any imagination or originality? Downey makes for a Holmes you can actually like, and the plot is far more intelligent then any Doyle gave us. Example; The bad guy in the “Speckled Band” trains a snake to do tricks with a whistle, and a saucer of milk. Yet snakes can not hear, and can not drink milk! Its constant ignorance of the natural sciences and lack of research that make the old Sherlock Holmes stories kind of painful. Not to mention that the female characters in the original stories usually faint, go crazy or both at the first sign of trouble. I loved the new Irene Adler! And finally, the adventures of Sherlock Holmes are actually an adventure. Not a bore!
Stephanie T. although I respect your opinion, I do not agree with it. I think the movie was excellent and it deserves applause. The cast was remarkable and the slow motion portrays his thought processes which I thought to be very interesting. I think it gives the audience a closer look into the mind of a genius. The real Holmes (the one you know) probably wouldn’t hold up in a box office to be honest. Consider it a new twist to an old classic.
Avatar will overtake The Dark Knight. Why? Its 2nd weekend will be higher than TDK’s and the third weekend will not fall off that much either. Also, there’s virtually NO competition for at least 2 months (unlike TDK which was a summer movie). Finally, EVERYBODY’s talking about it on social networking sites which is something I’ve never seen for any movie. People are clearly blown away.
Avatar’s box office sucks? Name me ONE movie that opened at $77 million and went UP the next weekend…
My final predictions: $550 million domestic adn $1.4 billion worldwide. Cameron will have the #1 and #2 movies of all times!
u talk like a drunk david oh u are actually drunk given ur name starts with capital D
That would be really sad because The Dark Knight was actually a good film. Avatar was (just like Cameron) kind of mediocre. I can’t even watch Titanic. It’s not that good.
Bad news, David O, Avatar just took a 12% hit and is 2nd to Sherlock Holmes? Sheesh! Word of mouth is just starting and it’s not about Dances With Wolves in space…in 3D…in IMAX.
What are you talking about, Jess? Avatar just won the weekend with $75 million. Sherlock came in second with $65 million.
People have to see the film to make a comment, the more interest the more people want to go and make their own minds up. So box office takings do not have a direct correlation as to whether the actual film is any good or not, all it shows is the interest of the public in seeing the film. I don’t care what anyone else thinks of the film, I went and I had a good time and thats the end of it.
Although it started off a little confusing, I really enjoyed Sherlock Holmes. I hope it earns enough money for a sequel to be made because they set it up for one.
Avatar rules.
Not this week
It could if it keeps up Saturday and Sunday. Even if it doesn’t, it could still top $75M for the weekend and beat TDK’s second-weekend record. Not too shabby.
What? TDK made over $314 million after ten days. Not even close.
Can you even read? Jen said the second-weekend record ie how much it makes on its second weekend and not the total box office intake after the second weekend.
Ok, so it didn’t even make $25 million but yet it will make over $75 the rest of the weekend?
yaaah ok, avatar is going to beat all of them. i went it saw it for the SECOND time in I-MAX 3D it was an amazing movie, sherlock holmes seems ok but i think avatar is better
TJ
Actually, Avatar haters (and lovers, I guess)…. BO analysts are basically predicting Avatar to overtake SH on Sat & Sun and actually have a BIGGER weekend than its debut weekend.
If the analysts are right, Avatar’s gonna break $80 million AND the December weekend record… in its SECOND WEEK.
I haven’t seen it yet so I have no opinion, but still… in this day and age, that’s pretty darn cool.
THANK YOU.
This is what I’ve been reading, too. Sherlock had a strong opening day, but don’t be surprised if Avatar DOES overtake it the rest of the weekend AND beat TDK’s $75M second weekend. And if it doesn’t, it’s going to be VERY close.
Bums on seats does not make it a good film, it just reflects the interest generated by the media/advertising etc.
save your 12 bucks- Sherlock Homo is a big ole zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
which is why i didn’t go to see it… stupid overrated movies these days
The same for Avatar…overhyped….overrated…
Um…No. Avatar was the best movie I ever saw. Watch it in 3D and you will see the error of your statement.
WHY DO PEOPLE JUDGE MOVIES BASED ON THEIR GRAPHICS? GOOD GRAPHICS DOES NOT TRANSLATE TO GOOD MOVIE. My only explanation for this phenomenon is that you’re just plain stupid.
Why don’t you try thinking outside your own point of viewing for once. Avatar got a solid A- user rating from Box Office Mojo, a 91% user rating from Rotten Tomatoes, and it did only drop 2% in its second weekend. Even though I myself cannot fathom how so many people are going to see this movie, I also cannot fathom how Titanic is the highest grossing movie of all time. People obviously like, if not love this movie. My brother loves this movie and he hated the sh*t out of Titanic. I think we just gotta except that some times a ton of people go see stupid movies. Example- The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
@ Random. I guess you are incapable of making your own mind up and need to rely on the words of others….be a man(or woman) and go see it so you can make an informed decision
WOrd. SH was actually a little boring. Just like word of mouth helped AVATAR, word of mouth will hurt SH. ONce the word gets out that it isn’t worth going to see in theatres, next weeks drop off will be big.
“Sherlock Homo”? Boy, I hate to see what you’d say about a movie you really hated.
What do you mean Sherlock Homo?? If you had seen the movie then you would know that makes absolutely no sense. The movie was great and definitely not overrated. It actually required you to use your brain unlike a lot of movies that are made today.
$12? dag I must live in the country, our tickets are only $9; anywho I loved Sherlock Holmes, It was a great character film, Robert Downey Jr’s antics were great
$9 is our “bargain” matinee price!
i’d rather have seen avatar… that actually looks INTERESTING.
LOVED Sherlock! It’s a fun movie, it’s not gonna win any Oscars, but it’s one of those fun to watch ,have a good ole time flicks.
I hate to say I told you so but last week the Avatar haters said it will have a big drop and they refused to acknowledge the impact of word of mouth. I hope they can see it now and that not all movies follow the same pattern and you can’t always judge a movie by its opening weekend. Avatar also had a strong week monday to thursday and may still take the weekend.
What are you talking about?
Go read the comments on the box office report from last week.
Ok, it still came in second. Hurray for #2.
anna u what the hell are u talking about pls for something worth 300 to 500 million to make it’s not leaving up to it’s expectation at the boxoffice it will drop to second place this weekend even though a lot of people on this page hated newmoon it still ruled in it’s second week pls sherlock holmes rules this week sorry to say but avatar sucks at the boxoffice bigtime u should just accept it
You need to go back to remedial English and learn how to construct a sentence using actual spelling, grammar, syntax and punctuation.
And as of Christmas Day, Avatar has made $416 million worldwide, in one week. Yes, it’s a TERRIBLE disappointment.
So what if it is number two. It made $23.5 on its second friday. That is more than your new moon’s second weekend. If avatar’s biggest second week competition was the second week of The Blind side, it would have been number one too. Avatar has seen an impressive hold that even non-blockbusters don’t often see. Spin it how you want, it is a hit.
Of course it’s a hit, nobody said it wasn’t going be. It just didn’t live up to expectations.
especially think about the fact that it’s not a sequel or adaptation of any kind, and it still pulled in blockbuster numbers. it just about pulled in its expectations, and actually did well critically (lol Twilight).
Screw peoples expectations. They have been wrong before. I am tired of people judging this movie on expectation and not what it is, especially when it comes to the movie itself and the box office. It had a very strong week with $19m, 16m, $16m, $11m, $23.5m monday through friday. No one predicted such a strong week. It held extremely well from the first week which shows it is not following a regular pattern. It is doing very well, but it is not following the expected path to success and you can’t blame the movie for the fact that the predictors were wrong about this movie.
*Avatar made a still impressive $16 on monday
Just a 12% drop for Avatar in a week is quite amazing. Most movies fall 50% in a week.
Keep trying to justify it can’t hold on to the number 1 spot for two weeks. What ever helps you sleep at night
Whether it finishes at #1 or #2 (and the weekend isn’t over yet), a 12% drop is still REALLY good.
whose to say that it wont get some more money the rest of the weekend…this is for only friday.
actually avatar is number one this weekend, beating sherlock holmes by nearly $10 million.
Who cares if it stays number 1? It’s still making tons of cash, and the word of mouth is obviously helping immensely.
Why are people making this about Avatar and Sherlock Holmes…They are two different genres. And what’s TDK?
TDK is the Dark Knight. Overrated movie.
@Emma – I have to agree. I was pretty bored when I saw it. Something’s wrong when the villain is of more interest than the hero in a story. Okay you can all jump on me now.
Sherlock Holmes is awesome.
good for the sherlock holmes crew..i sort of expected this movie to bomb. but to edge out avatar is pretty awsome. i wonder if it will be number one of the whole weekend?
It’s the holidays, so I’m not surprised that Avatar experienced a small drop. I’m curious as to how it will do once the holidays are over.
I hope it does well.
Great new for both Holmes and Avatar. Holmes looks like a hit, which many people apparently didn’t see coming. And Avatar caps off a straight week of $10+M dailies to only drop 12% over last week.
Glad to see Alvin sliding where it belongs.
Avatar and Holmes should both continue to do well. The next “big” movie out is probably The Book of Eli, which isn’t due for another three weeks.
The next BIG movie is the Heath Ledger movie.
What, you mean Parnassus? Sorry, that’s not going to do anything huge. I promise.
Please, Avatar nerds were in here saying it was going to break all sorts of records. Not even going to come close.
Actually, if it experiences a normal Friday-Saturday increase-Sunday drop, it COULD (emphasis on COULD) beat The Dark Knight’s second-weekend record.
Who cares about 2nd or first weekend records?? SH or AVATAR will never reach THe Dark knight’s $527 million.
sorry to say but avatar would never break the darknight it doesn’t have that driving force there a lot of movie coming out by the ending of this month so dont expect it to do well worldwide or domestically
Second weekend TDK made about 75.6 million. Avatar is not going to reach that
I saw “Avatar” the day it opened last weekend, and the theater I was in was about 30% full because of the horrible weather up here last weekend. I went to see it again this afternoon, while the weather is much much nicer, and the theater I was in was sold out. Both were 3-D theaters, as well. I have a feeling the “Avatar” will hold up very well in theaters, much like “Titanic” did over a decade ago. Look for it to make a ton of money during its run.
like i said before avatar sucked bigtime at the boxoffice my only problem is the fans unwillingness to accept those facts avatar suckssssssss. it was made with 300-500million and it produce 77what on it’s opening day fail fail fail u all answer this ouestion honestly if newmoon or ironman were in the same position as avatar with 300-500million in the making will u still call it a success i hate to break it to you but opening weekend like 100-158 speaks records for that what count eg darknight spiderman newmoon they are making boxoffice history opening weekends in the usa counts bigtime for me so to complete the story short avatar is and will never break any records
angel5 = EPIC FAIL.
Wow even that sentence was more grammatically correct than yours!
You don’t understand the box office so I won’t argue with you but by your logic, Titanic is an epic failure because it had an opening weekend of $29 million. When titanic was released, it had the highest budget for any movie at $200,000,000.
the reason why i used fail for avatar is bcos of the amount of money used in making it for goodness sake 300-500million and it came up with 77million on it’s opening night titanic sucked at the boxoffice as well on it’s opening weekend but did well down the road but dont expect the same for avatar . u say titanic had the biggest budget at 200million i guess we can aswell say the same for avatar only it is much worse 500million for that crap pls by the way i prefer titanic a million times over it was beautiful and powerful can’t say the same for avatar
Are you kidding me? Avatar only dropped 12% friday to friday facing heavier competition. Look at my previous post for it strong numbers this week. How is that not doing well down the road? New moon dropped 70%, Avatar only 12%. Avatar will cross $200 million in domestic box office at the end of this weekend and has already grossed over $400 million worldwide. And also, the “$500 million” Avatar budget includes the marketing and that number has been reported to be overestimated. The actual production budget is around $280 million. Like I said, you have shown you don’t understand the box office and that is why you don’t see how well Avatar has done this week and its potential in the coming weeks.
angel5… I hope you are young because your utter lack of facts and reason are disheartening. Avatar cost $280 million to produce and another $150 to market. That would make it the second most expensive film ever produced after Pirates 3($300 million). Avatar is on track to make $80 this weekend, which would set an all-time record for a second frame. It is also on pace to break $250 by New Year’s and $300 by the end of the third weekend. This does not take into effect foreign markets where it has made $250 million and just opened in the major Asian markets where early word shows it is setting records. Also, Avatar will control all the IMAX screens in the US until March 6th when Alice opens. Avatar will, at the very least, end its’ run as the third highest grossing film in the US and second worldwide.
Avatar cost roughly $300 million to make when all is said and done. It’s already made $416 million worldwide in a week (and it’s not even in China or Japan yet). A WEEK. It has a virtual monopoly on 3D/IMAX screens for another three months.
I’m sorry, HOW is it a failure again?
Why are you so adamant about this? I wish people would use the term “fail” for things that require it, in the long run avatar is going to be anything but a failure.
Um…Angel5. You are a dumb ass. Avatar only cost $237m to make. Check your facts before you start spewing lies.
um chris you are the dumb ass avatar suckssss big time idiots saying it’s going to break darknights records are the idiots it could’nt even break any poeoning weekends for me worldwide dont count that much if u fail in usa u fail everywhere avatar fails
Wow. I’m sorry, but I hope you’re like a 12-year-old girl, because otherwise there’s no excuse.
“Worldwide don’t (do you mean doesn’t?) count that much”? Right. I’m sure Fox will just take that $250+ million they’ve made on Avatar internationally and just give it back. You know, since it doesn’t matter. What an ignorant fool you are.
I don’t think anyone thinks it’s going to beat TDK’s overall gross. What people are saying is that it has a very good chance of beating TDK’s second-weekend record, which is about $75M. And while that might not happen, it’s not out of the realm of possibility and predicting that it could happen does not make someone an idiot.
What DOES make someone an idiot is a complete lack of basic writing ability and spouting off BS with nothing to back it up…
Angel5, you’re showing your true intellect when calling someone a dumbass based on something can quite possibly occur. Avatar can in fact beat The Dark Knight in box office and second week numbers. How is it not a success, it will soon pass New Moon, will probably be the highest grossing movie to open in 2009. Stop saying “fail” every other word. And if something “fails” in the US, doesn’t necessarily mean it fails everywhere else. I remember the same argument about Davinci Code, it did well here, but was even better overseas (not sure of the exact numbers) and was the highest grossing movie that year. In summary, don’t be stupid.
and angel5, since when does a movie need to be good to do well at the box office. Twilight, Transformers 1 and 2, Spiderman 3, Pirates 2 and 3… I don’t want to get into an argument about whether or not you think these are actually good movies, but they were panned by critics and other people who watch movies that don’t always break records.
what about NINE? it went wide on xmas day. can we get some figures, EW??
Yeah that’s what I was looking for too. I have a bad feeling that Nine is going to bomb… But I’m still going to see it eventually.
9 will probably do well overseas, but I gotta feeling not domestically.
My thought exactly. NINE should have made the top five just based on having a million stars in it. So I bet it really tanked
Sally, I think you’re confusing 9 and Nine. 9 has the little sock puppet things in it. Nine is what looks to be a major dud musical.
It looks stank.