James Cameron's "Avatar" has jumped out to a faster start than projected.
Distributor 20th Century Fox says Cameron's sci-fi saga did far more business Sunday than the studio had estimated, raising the film's domestic weekend total to $77.35 million. That's $4.35 million more than the studio first forecast.
That also should give a bump to the movie's worldwide total, which has topped $230 million.
Fox still is counting final numbers, but if the figure holds, "Avatar" will go in the record book for biggest December opening ever, a fraction ahead of the $77.2 million for Will Smith's "I Am Legend" two years ago.
But factoring in higher ticket prices today, "I Am Legend" sold more tickets than "Avatar" over opening weekend.
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