"Avatar", Chipmunks lead worldwide box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The 3-D extravaganza "Avatar" ruled the worldwide box office for a second weekend on Sunday, while the latest exploits of Alvin and the Chipmunks and Sherlock Holmes helped set a North American sales record.

Distributor 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp, said the film was No. 1 everywhere except in India where it followed a local movie. It opens in China on January 2 and Italy on January 15.

British director Guy Ritchie''s "Sherlock Holmes," starring Robert Downey Jr. as the Victorian sleuth, opened to $91.4 million in North America and 17 foreign markets. The Warner Bros. release opened at No. 2 in the United States and Canada with a better-than-expected $65.4 million.

Family audiences spent $86.7 million on Fox''s "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," a follow-up to the cartoon characters'' 2007 worldwide smash. In North America, the film ranked No. 3 for the weekend with $50.2 million, also exceeding studio forecasts. Thanks to an early start on Wednesday, its tally stands at $77.1 million, taking its worldwide haul to $113.6 million.

Fox said "Alvin" opened in 42 markets, and was No. 2 in at least 20 of them.

SALES RECORD SMASHED

The three films helped set a new weekend sales record in North America, according to tracking firm Hollywood.com Box Office. The top 12 releases grossed $278 million, smashing the mark of $261 million set in July 2008 when "The Dark Knight" was the top film, it said.

The firm also forecast record sales of $10.5 billion this year, up 9 percent from 2008. Even with higher ticket prices, it predicted the number of tickets sold would rise almost 5 percent from last year to 1.4 billion -- the highest tally since 2006.

The other major new release in North America, "It''s Complicated," opened at No. 4 with a solid $22.1 million. The Universal Pictures comedy, starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, also pulled in $5.4 million from 11 foreign markets. Spain chipped in $2.1 million.

The only sour note was struck by the Weinstein Co. musical "Nine," which earned just $5.5 million in its first weekend of wide release, good enough for only No. 8. The closely held studio said the film struggled to connect with moviegoers in the heartland, but did better in the big cities.

STRONG HOLD FOR "AVATAR"

"Avatar" has earned $212.3 million after 10 days of release across the United States and Canada. The film enjoyed a surprisingly strong hold, losing just 3 percent of its opening-weekend audience.