Box office

HOLLYWOOD — Snow on the East Coast put a dent in the domestic opening of Avatar but wasn’t enough to keep the hugely expensive movie from the global launch it needed.

The 3-D epic from director James Cameron, which cost $430 million to make and market, launched with a studio-estimated $232.2 million in worldwide ticket sales. It was the biggest debut ever for a movie that was not a sequel.

In the U.S. and Canada, bad weather limited the haul for the film to a solid but far from spectacular $77 million.

Overseas, however, audiences plunged in. Despite frigid weather in northern Europe, Avatar collected $159.2 million internationally, the biggest ever simultaneous foreign launch for a non-sequel, behind only installments in such mega-franchises as Harry Potter, Spider-Man and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Most important for distributor 20th Century Fox, the prospects for huge returns in the coming weeks are very strong. Japan and China, two of the biggest markets for effects-laden adventure movies, will get the movie on Dec. 23and Jan. 2, respectively.

At home, Avatar will benefit as those who saw it start talking to those who haven’t. Audiences gave it an average grade of A, according to market research firm CinemaScore. And with Christmas falling on Friday, Fox executives are buzzing that Avatar could gross about as much on its second weekend as its first and hit $200 million by the end of the year.

If they do turn out in bigger numbers, Avatar could easily end up with more than $250 million domestically and more than $600 million overseas, based on the performance of comparable films. It’s even possible that it could become the fifth movie ever to top the $1 billion mark.

The largest factor in its performance beyond word-ofmouth was 3-D. Domestically, theaters with 3-D screens accounted for 71 percent of the movie’s gross despite representing only 59 percent of those playing it. Overseas, the disparity was far more dramatic, as 25 percent of screens and 56 percent of ticket sales were in 3-D.

The romantic comedy Did You Hear About the Morgans?, starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant, opened to a weak $6.6 million. Sony Pictures and Relativity Media,which spent $58 million to make the movie, are hoping it will play well over Christmas, a difficult prospect because audiences graded it B-minus.

Walt Disney Studios’ animated feature The Princess and the Frog and Warner Bros.’ Clint Eastwood drama Invictus declined 50 percent and 52 percent, respectively. The two companies had hoped for smaller drops after so-so starts last weekend.

Many in Hollywood were also focused on the limited box office this weekend, as smaller movies jockeyed for attention following last Tuesday’s Golden Globe nominations.

Musical adaptation Nine got off to a very strong start despite mixed reviews, opening to $246,933 at four theaters.

Despite better reviews, country-music drama Crazy Heart debuted with a much softer $84,204 at four theaters. Fox Searchlight plans to expand its low-budget movie starring Jeff Bridges slowly, in hopes of building momentum.

Paramount is ready to go nationwide with its critically acclaimed George Clooney drama Up in the Air, which continued its impressive run with $3.2 million at 175 theaters in its third weekend.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. Avatar, Fox, $77,025,481, 3,452 locations, $22,313 average, $77,025,481, one week.

2. The Princess and the Frog, Disney, $12,185,949, 3,475 locations, $3,507 average, $44,717,721, four weeks.

3. The Blind Side, Warner Bros., $10,021,280, 3,407 locations, $2,941 average, $164,725,525, five weeks.

4. Did You Hear About the Morgans?, Sony, $6,616,571, 2,718 locations, $2,434 average, $6,616,571, one week.

5. The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Summit, $4,407,598, 3,035 locations, $1,452 average, $274,598,319, five weeks.

6. Invictus, Warner Bros., $4,203,171, 2,125 locations, $1,978 average, $15,877,956, two weeks.

7. Disney’s A Christmas Carol, Disney, $3,443,464, 2,070 locations, $1,664 average, $130,813,354, seven weeks.

8. Up in the Air, Paramount, $3,210,132, 175 locations, $18,344 average, $8,216,051, three weeks.

9. Brothers, Lionsgate, $2,889,121, 2,009 locations, $1,438 average, $22,349,862, three weeks.

10. Old Dogs, Disney, $2,340,575, 2,630 locations,$890 average, $43,625,471, four weeks.

11. 2012, Sony, $2,204,588, 2,242 locations, $983 average, $159,028,696, six weeks.

12. Armored, Sony Screen Gems, $1,284,591, 1,538 locations, $835 average, $14,254,614, three weeks.

13. Precious, Lionsgate, $1,203,741, 1,003 locations, $1,200 average, $40,084,412, seven weeks.

14. Ninja Assassin, Warner Bros., $932,447, 1,155 locations, $807 average, $36,419,535, four weeks.

15. Planet 51, Sony, $810,137, 1,349 locations, $601 average, $38,496,770, five weeks.

16. The Road, Weinstein Co., $660,274, 396 locations, $1,667 average, $4,926,949, four weeks.

17. Everybody’s Fine, Miramax, $601,659, 1,003 locations, $600 average, $8,855,646, three weeks.

18. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Fox, $598,941, 540 locations, $1,109 average, $17,385,916, six weeks.

19. The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, Apparition, $406,783, 404 locations, $1,007 average, $9,365,018, eight weeks.

20. Nine, Weinstein Co., $257,232, four locations, $64,308 average, $257,232, one week.