英语文摘:"Avatar" becoming second highest grossing

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- James Cameron's big-time sci- fi blockbuster "Avatar" sailed into this weekend as the box-office champion for the sixth week running, only trailing behind the phenomenal director's another masterpiece "Titanic," the North America box office authorities said on Sunday.

"Avatar," from Fox, took in 36 million dollars this weekend for an estimated tally of North American gross of 552.8 million dollars, projected statistics show. This is well enough to replace "The Dark Knight" (533 million dollars) as the second-biggest movie of all time. Fox said it may have to wait another two weeks to sail past the 601 million dollars total of "Titanic" during 1997-98 period.

"Avatar" took away the best drama and best director awards at the 67th Golden Globes Awards last Sunday. This has helped it to win over more U.S. and Canadian moviegoers, and it may ultimately come off as the highest grossing film in the United States and Canada.

James Cameron's big-time sci- fi blockbuster "Avatar" sails into this weekend as the box-office champion for the sixth week running.

Post-apocalyptic action thriller "Legion," from Sony/Screen Gems, debuted in the No. 2 slot with 18.2 million dollars. In the film starring Paul Bettany, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson and Dennis Quaid, an out-of-the-way diner becomes the unlikely battleground for the survival of the human race. When God loses faith in humankind, he sends his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse.

At No. 3 is Denzel Washington's vehicle "The Book of Eli." The Warner Bros' action drama fetched 17 million dollars as its slipped from last week's second place with a total gross of 62 million dollars in two weeks.

Fox's latest family comedy "The Tooth Fairy" premiered at No. 4 with a promising 14.5 million dollars. Dwayne Johnson played a minor league hockey player who realizes the value of dreams and goals through his role as a real tooth fairy.

"The Lovely Bones," Paramount, is No. 5 which took in 8.8 million dollars this weekend, and 31.6 million dollars over seven weeks.