Studio executives were grinning ear to ear as Santa delivered the biggest box-office weekend grosses ever. Leading the pack was
Avatar, which had staying power beyond what anyone had hoped. Coming in second was
Sherlock Holmes. The detective hasn't been big box-office since the days of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, but director Guy Ritchie seems to have succeeded in reinventing the detective as a modern action hero. The plan is to turn the film into a tentpole series. Also opening well was the adult comedy
It's Complicated, but better results were from the far more modestly-budgeted
Up in the Air, which was made for only $24 million as opposed to the other film's $80 million budget. The only major disappointment was Rob Marshall's
Nine, which may be too avant garde for mainstream audiences. For full analysis
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