Avatar started off really well collecting $27M on Friday (including $3.5M from Thursday midnight) but was slowed down then rest of the weekend due to the storm. Saturday saw a decline of 5% for an additional $25.7M and then Sunday the film pulled in another $24.7M for a total of $77M. The $77M debut was close to my $82M forecast. Based on the rave reviews and terrific word of mouth, Avatar should’ve seen an increase in business on Saturday instead of a decline. All in all the film probably missed out on a potential $8M - $10M because of the snow but will make that business up over the next few days as more and more people take time off from work and school for the holidays. With two holiday weekends coming up, Avatar should rake it in over the next few frames and make its way to about $300M total. 

Avatar is now the second best opening in the month of December. Here’s a look at the revised list.

 

Did You Hear About the Morgans?, the only other wide release for the weekend, bottomed out collecting $7M, even lower than my $8M prediction. Apparently audiences did hear about how terrible the Morgans are, choosing to ignore the film based on the dreadful reviews from critics.  With the holiday weekends ahead, Morgans would normally have a good chance at making some money, but there is way too much competition coming out for the film to have any legs. It’s Complicated, Nine and Up in the Air will all be after the same adult audience coveted by the Morgans. Morgans will be lucky to collect $20M by the end of its run. 

Among holdovers, The Princess and the Frog was also affected by the weather and dropped a whopping 50% in its second weekend to collect another $12.2M, much lower than the $15M I anticipated. The film’s total now stands at $44.8M. Frog should be able to capitalize on holiday traffic over the next couple of weeks and may find its way to about $75M.

Be sure to come back Thursday for my predictions for this weekend’s releases, Sherlock Holmes, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, It’s Complicated, Nine and Up in the Air.

Follow me on Twitter for box office updates throughout the week.