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"Hunger Games" becomes the first film since "Avatar" to spend four straight weekends at No. 1, while fellow Lionsgate pic "Cabin in the Woods" opens third with $14.9 million; "Battleship" Beat Overseas by "Titanic 3D" in surprise upset.

Chinese box office takings surged 64 percent to $1.5 billion in 2010. Film officials say the figure still lags more developed markets and urged local filmmakers to make better movies that can compete with Hollywood blockbusters like "Avatar" and "Inception."

Moviegoers wanted to get scared just as much as they wanted to enjoy a good crime caper this weekend, but very few were interested in a return trip to Pandora. Based on studio estimates released Sunday morning, indie horror film "The Last Exorcism" and heist film "Takers" were in a virtual dead heat, with both selling about $21 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada for the weekend.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese continue to lure movie-goers to "Shutter Island," while James Cameron's "Avatar" has surpassed $700 million domestically....

Romantic drama "Dear John" unexpectedly ended the seven-week reign of "Avatar" at the weekend box office in North America on Sunday, grossing an estimated $32.4 million.

It was love that slayed the mighty "Avatar" -- or, at least, knocked it out of the top position at the boxoffice that it has commanded for the previous seven weeks. "Dear John" proved to be more popular than expected, taking in an estimated $13.8 million on Friday in 2,969 theaters.

"Avatar" climbed to $601.1 million domestically on Tuesday, putting it a fraction ahead of the $600.8 million haul for "Titanic."

"Avatar" grossed yet another strong $30 million over the weekend for a new domestic total of $594.4 million. That stunningly puts James Cameron's blockbuster only days away from passing "Titanic's" U.S. mark of $600 million. "Edge of Darkness" found a solid $17.1 million and "When in Rome" $`12.1 million.

Now that 20th Century Fox's Avatar is the highest grossing movie of all time (not adjusted for inflation or higher 3D ticket prices), it should pass $2 billion worldwide by early next week (its global total was $1,917,419,460 last Thursday). The pic's runaway success has answered all its critics, so there's not much more to say except, Wow!

James Cameron's "Avatar" is on a course to sink "Titanic" at the box office. No. 1 for the sixth-straight weekend with $36 million, the 20th Century Fox sci-fi spectacle lifted its domestic total to $552.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. "Avatar" raised its worldwide total to $1.841 billion. That's $2 million shy of first place behind Cameron's last movie, the 1997 shipwreck epic "Titanic," at $1.843 billion.