BoxOffice

Astronauts may have debunked the age-old myth that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from space, but if they were to take a look right now, they might be able to see James Cameron's 'Avatar.' His blue giant has been circling the globe in a neon blur for nearly four weeks now, vacuuming coin-of-the-realm out of the hands of moviegoers from Argentina to the Ukraine.

But, wait. Before we declare 'Avatar' the Greatest Attraction in the Solar System, let's acknowledge the sizable minority of Earthlings who are not impressed.

James Cameron's 'Avatar' is not only beating the fourth-weekend box-office record of Cameron's earlier 'Titanic,' but it's beating it by nearly $25 million. Sunday estimates projected a fourth-weekend gross of $48.5 million for the current runaway hit. The record set by 'Titanic' in January of 1998 was $28.7 million. If the estimate stands, 'Avatar's' 24-day domestic total is now at $429 million.

But before we faint from the size of these numbers, it's time for a reality check, time to bring Cameron's Pandoran adventure back to Earth. The true measure of a movie's popularity is the number of tickets purchased -- aka "admissions" or "number of butts in seats" -- and at that, 'Avatar' is far, far from the top of the list.

First of all, 'Avatar's' reported ticket sales are skewed upward by the higher prices being charged for 3-D and 3-D IMAX showings. More important is a little thing called inflation.

The out of this world success of 'Avatar' continues.

The James Cameron sci-fi fantasy has taken in $1.14 billion around the world as of Wednesday, according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter, meaning that it has now passed the $1.12 billion draw of 2003's 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' to become the second-highest worldwide grosser ever.

The 'Avatar' totals breaks down to $374.4 million domestically and $760.8 million overseas so far.

Starring in a vampire movie being released in January doesn't sound like a great career movie, but Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe are on board for the Spiereg brothers' 'Daybreakers,' one of three new wide-opening movies that will be swatted away like moths by James Cameron's runaway blockbuster 'Avatar.'

'Daybreakers' is the second feature for the Australian writers/directors/brothers team and it doesn't have a very high hill to climb to beat their debut film, 2005's 'Undead.' That horror film, about residents of an Australian fishing village who are bombed by meteorites and turned into ravenous, hollow-eyed zombies, was undead on arrival in the U.S. But it had stars with names like Mungo McKay and Dirk Hunter, so the Hawke/Dafoe pairing is a major marquee upgrade.

It has long been a truism that during economic downturns, people gravitate towards the movies as a relatively cheap form of escapism from their troubles. Just ask Warner Bros.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. is estimating a record haul in 2009, with a worldwide box office total of $3.99 billion. That amount includes $2.13 billion domestically, which far exceeds their own previous record of $1.79 billion from last year, while the overall total also sets a new industry benchmark.

With a $75 million second weekend for James Cameron's 'Avatar' leading the way, Christmas weekend is on pace to break the all-time three-day weekend record of $268 million set last July when new release 'The Dark Knight' led its pack with an opening weekend gross of $154.4 million all by itself. The new record is an estimated $278 million.

Hot on 'Avatar''s big blue heels is Guy Richie's 'Sherlock Holmes' with a three-day estimate of $65.4 million, and 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel,' which will fill finish with about $50.2 million over three days and $77.3 million since its jump-start on Wednesday morning.

Believe it or not, James Cameron may not be King of the World by the end of the long Christmas weekend.

His 3D sensation 'Avatar' is not losing steam -- in fact, it set nonsummer weekday box office records Monday and Tuesday -- but early estimates from Wednesday show that 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel' was out-performing the Na'Vis in ticket sales, $19 million to $16 million.

And when 'Sherlock Holmes,' Guy Ritchie's action-packed addition to the Holmes movie canon, opens wide Christmas Day, there may be three pictures running in a pack for the box office lead. Early reviews of 'Sherlock Holmes' have been mixed, but even the negative ones agree that Ritchie has concocted a brand new vibe for the Baker Street team of Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Dr. Watson (Jude Law). And in a market where 'Avatar' is the dominant choice for adults and 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' the dominant choice for toddlers-in-tow families, 'Sherlock' is a sure thing for teenagers.

It happened 12 years ago with 'Titanic.' Now James Cameron may bring in a billion bucks again with 'Avatar.'

The Los Angeles Times reports Cameron's science fiction epic has already earned $232.2 million worldwide in its first weekend of release, the ninth-biggest global debut of all time (not adjusted for inflation). And it's the biggest ever for a non-sequel.

UPDATE: Variety is now reporting that 'Avatar's' final weekend tally was $77.3 million.

A not-so-funny thing happened to 'Avatar' on its way to a December opening weekend box office record: the East Coast's first major winter storm came between moviegoers and their multiplexes and kept Jim Cameron's sci-fi epic from topping 'I Am Legend's' $77.2 million record.

Based on Friday's $27 million gross, box office analysts had projected 'Avatar's' opening weekend total at $80-85 million. Instead, it settles for an estimated $73 million.

With the rave reviews of the nation's hardest-to-please critics and good word of mouth, 'Avatar' will get past this speed bump and continue at a full gallop. Overnight, 'Avatar' went from an Oscar long-shot on most critics' polls to a front-runner, and with nominations almost certain to come from most of the industry guilds next month, it will be filling theaters -- especially those showing it in 3-D -- for weeks to come.

The first full week before Christmas, when people are busy finishing their shopping, is traditionally slow at movie theaters.

But juggernauts are hard to slow down anytime and in the realm of juggernauts, James Cameron's 'Avatar' may the biggest since his 1997 Oscar-winner 'Titanic.' That film set the reigning domestic ($600.1 million) and worldwide ($1.8 billion) box office records and his follow-up is the most anticipated film in years.