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Estimates are in on what has turned out to be an unusually competitive Christmas at the box office. With $24.9 million from 3,626 theatres, Sherlock Holmes is the big winner as expected. The real story, however, is how close Avatar came to an upset on the 25th. After the figures for last weekend's debut were reconnoitered, Avatar did end up unseating I Am Legend to become the biggest December release of all time at $77.3 million. Throughout the week, Cameron's 3D opus continued to dominate, pulling in averages of $16 million until the 23rd when Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel debuted with $18.8 million. Christmas threw Sherlock Holmes in to the mix but, even with the buzz surrounding the rebirth of the famed detective, it looked like Avatar might just hold on to first place. Number one or not, with films in 2nd and 3rd Fox is still feeling jolly while, overall, Christmas day tallies were way up from 2008. Avatar is still projected to take the weekend so check back tomorrow to see how off the estimates will be this week!

Title

Friday

Total

1

Sherlock Holmes

$24,900,000

$24.9

2

Avatar

$23,500,000

$160.8

3

Alvin & the Chipmunks 2

$14,500,000

$41.4

4

It's Complicated

$7,100,000

$7.1

5

Up in the Air

$3,700,000

$16.4