Billion-dollar 'Avatar' on a winning streak for fourth weekend

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With no sign of letting up, Avatar is poised again to stay on top of the box office this coming weekend, maintaining its stronghold on attendance.

For the past three weeks, the blockbuster has been a record-breaking hit in the US and internationally over the holidays. Currently, in the US Avatar accounts for 84 percent of online ticket sales heading to its fourth weekend at the box office.

The film is now the number-three all-time worldwide box office behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Titanic. It's reached the $1.1 billion mark in revenue with the strong overseas reception. In 2009, Avatar took the second spot for the year's box office after only two weeks in release. Director James Cameron could eclipse his own Titanic.

Though this week is the first time it's losing any momentum, compared to the competition this weekend, Avatar could break records in its steady position. It's the biggest-ever 3D ticket, accounting for 75 percent of its sales.

If the action-packed Sherlock Holmes with its star power couldn't knock out Avatar, it's unlikely that the new films this weekend - Amy Adam's romantic-comedy Leap Year, Ethan Hawke's vampire adventure Daybreakers, or Michael Cera's comedy Youth in Revolt - will manage to dethrone the sci-fi epic.

RC