'Avatar' set to maintain its reign of US box office for fifth week

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Seems there's no stopping Avatar, the 3D sci-fi epic which has easily stayed on top of the US box office for the last month. If it holds onto the number-one spot again the weekend of January 15, it will be the first film to come out on top for five weeks since The Sixth Sense, ten years ago

Though Avatar audiences dropped 29 percent last weekend and will probably decrease again, the competition isn't that fierce. Most studios don't release blockbusters in January. This coming weekend brings The Book of Eli starring Denzel Washington, another futuristic action-adventure film, that should prove a good alternative for moviegoers who have already seen Avatar.

Heading into a three-day weekend in the US with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, kids and family audiences should seal the deal for Avatar, especially if it wins Sunday's Golden Globe Awards.

With more than $1.3 billion, Avatar has only $500 million more to earn to reach the ultimate top spot. If the film wins big at the Oscars on March 7, it should handily sink the Titanic, which has held the title for 13 years as the highest-grossing film of all time. After making more than $1.3 billion worldwide in four weeks, Cameron is challenging his own record.

RC