'Edge of Darkness' no match for 'Avatar'

By Sarah Sluis

Avatar continued its reign over the box office with its seventh week at

number one. The sci-fi crowd-pleaser coasted through the weekend with a mere 14% drop to rack up another $30 million. Just $5 million away from the

domestic all-time record of $600.4 million set by Titanic, Avatar will roll past the

milestone sometime this week. While Titanic is still the winner once the numbers are adjusted for inflation, both movies had remarkably similar trajectories, rising above initial bad press ("those blue creatures look funny, "there's no way it can make back its money") and then breaking record after record.

In second place, with about half the audience of Avatar, Mel Gibson-starring Edge of Darkness opened at $17.1 million, in line with industry expectations. The solid genre film (57% on Rotten Tomatoes) will draw in action and thrill-seeking moviegoers but won't expand much beyond its genre base.

Romantic comedy When in Rome opened on the high side of expectations, with $12 million of coins to count in its fountain. Its romcom cousin, Leap Year, opened a month ago to $9 million. Since both movies ended up with a 20% Rotten Tomatoes rating, When in Rome benefited from stronger marketing and a younger star to draw in young women to the sketched out, immature storyline.

After a so-so opening weekend, Tooth Fairy flexed some staying power with a small 26% drop, adding another $10 million to its under-the-pillow stash. At the opposite end of the spectrum, horror movie Legion fell a hard 61% to $6.8 million.

This Friday, Edge of Darkness and When in Rome will have to tough it out as they deal with fresh competition. From Paris with Love, an action film starring another older male star, John Travolta, will hit theatres to snatch away Edge of Darkness viewers. When in Rome will have to contend with Dear John, a romantic weepie starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried.