"Avatar" passes $500 million at U.S. box office

Cast member Zoe Saldana poses at the premiere of ''Avatar'' at the Mann's Grauman Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California December 16, 2009.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Newly crowned Golden Globe winner "Avatar" broke the $500 million mark in record time at the North American box office on Monday, quickly closing in on the all-time record held by "Titanic" for 12 years.

Distributor 20th Century Fox said James Cameron's sci-fi spectacular earned an estimated $54.6 million during the four-day U.S. Martin Luther King holiday, leading the box office for a fifth consecutive weekend.

Its total rose to $505.1 million after 32 days. The Batman sequel "The Dark Knight" held the $500 million speed record, taking 45 days in 2008.

The News Corp-owned studio expects "Avatar" to surpass the $533 million haul of "The Dark Knight" next weekend, leaving only Cameron's "Titanic" ahead of it with $601 million. Data are not adjusted for inflation, and "Avatar" additionally benefits from premium pricing for 3-D screenings.

The international total for "Avatar" rose to $1.12 billion after a $129 million weekend. The worldwide total stands at $1.613 billion, trailing "Titanic" by just $230 million.

"Avatar" won Golden Globes on Sunday for best drama and director. All eyes are now on the February 2 announcement of the Academy Award nominations.

"BOOK OF ELI" OPENS AT NO. 2

Denzel Washington's "The Book of Eli" opened at No. 2 in North America with $38.0 million for the four-day period, the actor's second-best opening after the three-day $43 million launch of 2007's "American Gangster." Young men accounted for about two-thirds of the audience for the Christian-themed apocalyptic thriller, said distributor Warner Bros. Pictures.

The $80 million film was produced by FedEx Corp Chairman Fred Smith's Alcon Prods., and distributed for a fee by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc.

Director Peter Jackson's adaptation of "The Lovely Bones" took the No. 3 spot with $20.5 million in its first weekend of national release, as the "Twilight" crowd flocked to the supernatural murder story.

Distributor Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc, said women accounted for almost three-quarters of the audience, and 40 percent of moviegoers were aged under 20.

The big-screen version of the Alice Sebold novel about a murdered girl had played in a total of three theaters in New York and Los Angeles for the past five weeks. Its total now stands at $21 million.

"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" slipped one place to No. 4 with $15 million in its fourth weekend. The Fox film has earned $196.1 million to date, nearing the $217 million total of its 2007 predecessor.

The only other major new release was Hong Kong action hero Jackie Chan's family comedy "The Spy Next Door," which opened at No. 5 with a modest $13 million. It was released by Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, which received a distribution fee from the film's closely held producer Relativity Media.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Eric Beech)