1. Avatar: $36 million ($552.7 million total)

And then there was one. On Saturday, Avatar passed The Dark Knight to become the second highest domestic grosser ever, leaving only Titanic as the last film standing between Pandora and U.S. history. At just over $48 million away from Titanic's record domestic number of $600.8 million, and with ridiculously small attrition rates—Avatar dipped just 16 percent this weekend—expect the big ship to go down sometime around the weekend of February 5th. And as if that weren't enough, later today James Cameron will officially become King of the World... all over again. Avatar's worldwide total now stands at $1.84 billion, meaning its just $2 million shy of tying Titanic's worldwide record. Ka-ching.

2. Legion: $18.2 million ($18.2 million total)

Considering Legion only cost a reported $25 million to make and featured Paul Bettany as an action hero-cum-angel (!), finishing as runner-up to Avatar with $18.2 million is nothing to sneeze at—bear in mind, its prohibitive R-rating didn't stop it from beating the kid-friendly, star-heavy The Tooth Fairy. The only quibble we can see? Screen Gems, the low-budget horror label from Sony, got Underworld: Rise of Lycans to $20.8 million on this weekend last year. If only Legion featured vampires and werewolves...

3. The Book of Eli: $17 million ($62 million total)

When you're dealing with the month of January, a 48 percent drop from weekend to weekend constitutes legs. With that in mind, hello to The Book of Eli! There is a lot to like here for Warner Brothers, not the least of which being that Eli had to tangle with the aforementioned Legion in the race to get post-apocalyptic dollars from moviegoers and still held its own. More good news: with $62 million already, Eli is on course to become the fourth highest grossing movie of Denzel Washington's career, behind only American Gangster, Remember the Titans and The Pelican Brief. We're guessing neither the Academy Award-winning star (nor his character in The Book of Eli, wink!) saw this kind of result coming.

4. The Tooth Fairy: $14.5 million ($14.5 million total)

Dwayne Johnson, thy name is stagnant. Despite possessing loads of charisma and tons of positive press, the man formerly known as The Rock can't seem to break out at the box office. The opening for The Tooth Fairy is a disappointment no matter how you color it: not only is it down from his previous forays into family entertainment—Race to Witch Mountain opened with $24 million last spring; The Game Plan started with $22 million in 2008—but it also falls under the average opening for his more masculine efforts. If the star can figure out how to combine both audiences, he could have something substantial. Until then, though, he's a better-liked Vin Diesel.

5. The Lovely Bones: $8.8 million ($31.6 million total)

Peter Jackson's much derided adaptation of Alice Sebold's best-selling novel barely held off Sherlock Holmes ($7.1 million/$191.5 million total) to finish in fifth place after dropping a reasonable 48 percent from its wide release last weekend. Call this a case of managing expectations: when The Lovely Bones was first announced, it seemed like a slam-dunk financial success and Oscar-contender. However after terrible reviews and atrocious returns in limited release, a final domestic tally of around $45 million has to be viewed by Paramount as a victory. They got as much out of this lemon as they possibly could.

1. Avatar: $54.6 million ($505 million total)

On Saturday Avatar passed Star Wars to become the third highest grossing movie of all time. And at the rates Avatar is receding—which is to say, not at all; over the holiday it actually rose 9 percent from last weekend—it will pass The Dark Knight next week and could eventually even top Titanic. Speaking of the soon-to-be former biggest movie ever, internationally Avatar is already at $1.6 billion, meaning it should grab Titanic's global crown sometime at the end of the month. In a word: gasp. And we didn't even mention the Golden Globe wins for James Cameron and the film itself, which probably fully cement Avatar as the Oscar frontrunner (not that the Globes mean anything, but they kinda do). We can't be the only ones who think James Cameron's Laser Cats 5 would gross at least $250 million, right?

2. The Book of Eli: $38 million ($38 million total)

Who needs John Travolta anyway? Certainly not Denzel Washington. After stumbling over the summer with mediocre returns for Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Denzel returned to theaters and almost found career best numbers for The Book of Eli. For the record, this is the second best opening of Mr. Washington's lengthy career, behind only American Gangster, and based on the per screen averages (over $12,000), it could have good legs through the end of the month. Somewhere, Harvey Weinstein is wondering why he wasn't able to get numbers like this for The Road and probably cursing up a storm while doing so.

3. The Lovely Bones: $20.5 million ($21 million total)

Stuck in the in-between of failed limited release for the past five weeks, The Lovely Bones finally went wide this weekend and found itself a respectable $20.5 million in the process. As The Weinstein Company learned with Nine (a dismal $18 million total after five weeks), when an Oscar hopeful gets destroyed by the critics, finding any audience is borderline impossible. Credit then to Paramont for getting The Lovely Bones off ground. The studio refocused the ad campaign from "awards bait" to "'tween girls and a whodunit" and it worked. We doubt the future for Bones is bright, but at least it'll wind up with better numbers than Nine.

4. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel: $15 million ($196 million total)

Further proof the end of the world is nigh: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel dipped just 9 percent over the weekend and will now cross $200 million sometime this week. For those of you without intimate knowledge of the grosses for the original Alvin and the Chipmunks, that means the squeakquel will gross even more before all is said and done. As the saying goes: fool us once, shame on you; fool us twice... and start buying canned tuna fish and Twinkies.

5. The Spy Next Door: $13 million ($13 million total)

Jackie Chan is back! Kinda! The much-derided The Spy Next Door barely held off Sherlock Holmes (starring Golden Globe winner Robert Downey Jr.; huh?) to finish in fifth place over the holiday. Don't expect much more from this title—it should be on DVD by March—but it bodes a bit well for The Karate Kid remake co-starring Mr. Chan as Mr. Miyagi. If something as bad as this can gross $13 million, what can a slick remake of a classic gross? Probably more than we would like.

The Book of Eli

What's the story: Think of this as The Road, but with the potential for an audience. Denzel Washington stars as the titular Eli, a road warrior walking across the scorched earth of post-apocalyptic America with a book that may or may not have something to do with King James. Gary Oldman co-stars as the villain (we can't expect him to play characters like Commissioner Gordon all the time!), meaning the chances for this thing to entertain are fairly great. The Hughes Brothers (Menace II Society) direct for the first time since 2005's From Hell, meaning violence should be expected. And, based on the vague reviews, so should a twist ending that you might not see coming. Add it all together and The Book of Eli could be the Knowing of 2010. Do with that information what you will.

Who should see it: Cormac McCarthy.

The Spy Next Door

What's the story: And think of this as Paul Blart, but without the audience. Or, so we hope. Just a few weeks after Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel threatened to ruin the youth of America, here comes Jackie Chan in a movie that looks an awful lot like the Hulk Hogan classic Mr. Nanny (emphasis, of course, on "awful"). Not sure what's more surprising here: that The Spy Next Door exists or that it features Billy Ray Cyrus in a major role. Scary thought: we'd rather see Mr. Chan's ill-advised remake of The Karate Kid fifty times over than sit through this.

Who should see it: Miley Cyrus.

Also opening this weekend: the very delectable Michael Fassbender (at least according to Slate's Dana Stevens) stars in the well-received indie Fish Tank; and, hey, remember The Lovely Bones? Peter Jackson's adaptation of Alice Sebold's novel came out in limited release over a month ago and—after getting universally panned—it finally finds a home in 2,400 theaters this weekend.

Invictus

What's the story: If Clint Eastwood is releasing a film, it's officially Oscar season! Invictus, the prolific septuagenarian's seventh film since 2003, stars Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as the rugby player the South African president tasked to help bring his country together in 1995 by winning the World Cup. (Spoiler alert: Use Google to find out if South Africa wins.) Reviews for Invictus have been strong and everyone seems unanimous in their praise of Mr. Freeman, who is poised for his first Best Actor nomination since The Shawshank Redemption in 1995. Plus, despite an accent that sounds lifted out of the now-defunct Flight of the Conchords, Mr. Damon has some Oscar heat, too (though in the supporting category)! Fun fact: Invictus derives its box-office–unfriendly name from a William Ernest Henley poem that Freeman-as-Mandela recites while in prison.

Who should see it: South Africa's 2007 World Cup–winning rugby team.

The Lovely Bones

What's the story: If Peter Jackson is releasing a film, it's … well, you get the idea. The long-awaited adaptation of Alice Sebold's best-selling novel about a young girl (Saoirse Ronan) who helps solve her brutal murder from the hereafter finally hits theaters with a din of bad buzz surrounding its ethereal landscapes. While our Rex Reed called the film "enthralling," other critics haven't been so kind; The Lovely Bones has Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes comparable to Armored. Also, apropos of nothing: Are we the only ones who can't look at Ms. Ronan with any sympathy because of the unctuous pill she played in Atonement? Just wondering.

Who should see it: People who own a copy of What Dreams May Come.

A Single Man

What's the story: Not to be confused with A Serious Man, the latest hilariously overrated cinematic hunk of junk from the Coen brothers, here comes A Single Man. Tom Ford directs (yep, that Tom Ford) this adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's 1964 novel about a college professor (Colin Firth) who must overcome the death of his longtime partner (Matthew Goode). Since A Single Man takes place in 1962 (hey, Mad Men!), Mr. Ford is afforded the opportunity to embrace his inner Matthew Weiner, from the costume design all the way down to a vocal cameo appearance from none other than Don Draper himself, Jon Hamm. Julianne Moore co-stars, and we can only hope she leaves whatever accent she was trying to do on last night's episode of 30 Rock at home.

Who should see it: Salvatore Romano.

Also opening this weekend: Disney's latest sure-to-be box office smash, The Princess and The Frog, expands nationwide.

I’m no fan of Peter Jackson, but as much as I hated the 2005 remake of King Kong and all of those silly, overrated Lord of the Rings comic books, the New Zealand director’s trademark recipe of fantasy, realism and computerized visual effects turns The Lovely Bones into a thrilling adventure. I love the exquisite blend of chilling murder mystery, suspenseful crime story and domestic melodrama, and especially the way Mr. Jackson lets his imagination run barefoot through the flames to deal with very difficult material indeed. My heart was pounding in my throat from start to finish. Take a Valium. The suspense could kill you.

The movie’s based on the acclaimed Alice Sebold novel about a serial killer on the loose in a placid Pennsylvania neighborhood and a dead 14-year-old girl who helps solve her own murder from beyond the grave; this was challenging stuff on the printed page, almost impossible to adapt to the screen. But great acting, relentless fantasy sequences and dark undercurrents of terror propel the creepy narrative with a cinematic rhythm as sinister as it is mesmerizing. Since we know the identity of the gentle-looking maniac who rapes and kills teenager Susie Salmon on her way home from school, you might think the plot is ruined from the beginning. Wrong. Susie’s friends and her parents (Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz) will not abandon the search for the missing child, even after the police have given up. In the movie, like the book, Susie is stuck somewhere between heaven and earth, where she relives her life posthumously, feverishly sending clues and signals about Mr. Harvey, the weird neighbor who watched her unnaturally from the green house down the street, and the fatal day she allowed him to lure her into a candlelit playroom beneath the cornfield, filled with toys, teddy bears and comic books. As the years pass, forensic evidence like the blue jacket and yellow corduroys Susie wore home that day is juxtaposed with the surreal spaces and seasons of an in-between place beyond life where Susie waits to be rescued. This is the blue horizon of Salvador Dali beaches, leaves that blow from tree branches and back again like detachable feathers, a lighthouse rising out of the misty murder scene. The cinematography is breathtaking. Even a shot of a sailing ship in a glass bottle looks like an oil painting brushed with polyurethane. When your hair isn’t standing on end, you always have something to look at, peruse, sift through like a police file. The scene where Susie’s suspicious sister (Rose McIver) sneaks into Mr. Harvey’s house and rummages through his desk drawers while he slowly climbs the stairs is as bloodcurdlingly scary as anything I’ve ever seen on film.

The performances are truly remarkable, from Ms. Weisz as a mother so anguished that she leaves home to pick fruit in California; to Mr. Wahlberg as a father so driven by grief that he loses reason; to Susan Sarandon as a chain-smoking grandmother who runs the vacuum cleaner in her mink coat and copes with a bottle of kitchen sherry. But two electrifying performances, without a hair out of place, dominate this film and leave you drained from excitement: As the tortured victim seeking closure, the fetchingly beautiful young Irish actress Saoirse Ronan (the lying little sister who caused all the trouble in Atonement) makes a memorable Susie; and as the benign monster with yellow hair, spectacles and a voice soft as a kitten’s tongue, living in the sinister house down the block, Stanley Tucci gives one of the most sensational performances of his versatile career. Look for him to make some noise when awards season arrives.

The Lovely Bones is a complex and unusual film, alluring, enthralling and perturbing. Weeks after seeing it, it still gives me nightmares.  rreed@observer.com

We love a good round of blogosphere-led hand wringing, so the news that Vertigo Entertainment is planning a reboot of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise totally tickles our fancy. Rather than include creator Joss Whedon or any of the beloved supporting characters he created for television, Vertigo is relying on the immortal Fran Rubel Kuzui, director of the long-forgotten original Buffy with Kristy Swanson and Luke Perry, to produce a film that “compliments” Mr. Whedon’s niche series. Think Star Trek, if J.J. Abrams kept Captain Kirk but replaced the crew of the Enterprise with some other dudes.

It goes without saying that this is a hilariously misguided idea, but it doesn’t seem worth the apoplectic reactions splattered about the web, specifically with regards to Mr. Whedon’s potential lack of involvement; as an intrepid blogger over at Entertainment Weekly put it: “Worst Idea Ever of the year!” Is it though? Mr. Whedon is talented, sure, but his absence from a Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie doesn’t necessarily mean it will, well, suck (pun most certainly intended!). Fact is, beyond the Buffy-verse, Mr. Whedon hasn’t done anything to warrant his status as a sacred cow; being one of four screenwriters on the original Toy Story is nice, but that achievement clearly gets canceled out by being the only writer for Alien Resurrection.

Anyway, all this got us thinking: Who are some other wildly overrated Hollywood commodities? Here are three of our favorites.

Danny Boyle

There was a meme running through the Oscar season last year which seemed to say that Danny Boyle was “due” for some Academy recognition. Come again? We love Trainspotting too, but this guy is not markedly better than other genre filmmakers in his peer group. And his work on Slumdog Millionaire felt like nothing more than warmed over Tony Scott. Needless to say, that is not a compliment.

James Cameron

Not even we can deny that the King of the World is one of the biggest directors ever: Aliens, T2, Titanic; any filmmaker would love to have one of those movies on their resume, let alone all three. The reason Mr. Cameron skates into the land of overrated, though, is because there seems to be this feeling amongst journalists and tastemakers that audiences are waiting with baited breath for what he does next. But by the time his 3-D-palooza, Avatar, is released in December, thirteen years will have passed from when Mr. Cameron ruled earth with Titanic. Does anyone even remember back that far? And, more important, did everyone forget that underneath all its technical prowess, Titanic was purely a mediocre melodrama?

Peter Jackson

We don’t think we’ve liked a Peter Jackson movie since The Frighteners. His laborious Lord of the Rings adaptations were bad enough, but what really pushes him over the top is King Kong. Here’s an idea, let’s take a fun creature feature and turn it into a three hour prestige picture. Ugh! Perhaps his take on The Lovely Bones, due in December, will fare better. At least in that film, we’ll be assured of seeing no ice skating giant apes.

January: Notorious (dir. George Tillman, Jr.)

As our esteemed colleague so accurately wrote, January is truly the coldest month for Hollywood. Unless you plan on catching up on all the holiday releases, there won't be a whole lot of reasons to sneak out to the local cineplex in the coming weeks. Still, we would implore you to make an exception and catch Notorious. Based on the life of Notorious B.I.G., the film looks like one-third American Gangster, one-third Walk the Line and one-third awesomeness. Newcomer Jamaal Woolard stars as Biggie, but we're more excited for the supporting cast: Derek Luke as Puff Daddy; Anthony Mackie as Tupac; and Angela Bassett as Voletta "What kind of grown ass man calls himself Puffy?" Wallace. (January 16th)

February: He's Just Not That Into You (dir. Ken Kwapis)

February is really a month for lovers. So if you're single, that means wallowing and watching romantic comedies with happy endings to make yourself feel better. (Not that we know anything about that!) We'd understand if you thought He's Just Not That Into You , based on the best-selling book, looked like filmic arsenic. However, there is hope: Director Ken Kwapis has helmed some of the very best episodes of the American Office (we'll forget that he also directed the atrocious License to Wed) and the cast is sprawling, featuring everyone from Jennifer Aniston to Kevin Connolly. Mostly, we just want to see it for the ever-adorable Ginnifer Goodwin. (February 6th)

March: Duplicity (dir. Tony Gilroy)

We've been on a Michael Clayton binge over the last couple of weeks, watching it over and over on cable and loving it a little more after each viewing. So consider us incredibly amped up to see what director Tony Gilroy comes up with next. Duplicity has been on our radar ever since its perfect cat and mouse trailer appeared online just before Thanksgiving. The title is terrible, but that's about our only complaint. Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti star. (March 20th)

April: Observe and Report (dir. Jody Hill)

The latest film from the Judd Apatow comedy factory is supposedly so dark and twisted, we've seen it compared to Taxi Driver. Sign us up! Seth Rogen stars as a vindictive and angry mall cop, trying to stop a flasher before the real cops do. Please don't confuse this with that stupid Kevin James movie. (April 10th)

May: Star Trek (dir. J.J. Abrams)

As usual, May is absolutely loaded with big movies: Terminator Salvation, Pixar's Up, Angels and Demons, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Night at the Museum 2. Still, of that group, Star Trek might be the best. We were never fans of the series, but we are big fans of the trailer for the franchise reboot. Plus, we're suckers for anything with J. J. Abrams' name on it. Well, anything but October Road. (May 8th)

June: The Hangover (dir. Todd Phillips)

A groom-to-be (Justin Bartha) and his three friends (Bradley Cooper, Zack Galifianakis, Ed Helms) head to Las Vegas for a Bachelor Party and when morning arrives … the groom is nowhere to be found. The latest from Old School director Todd Phillips seems poised to be a huge hit, something no doubt helped by three stars that are on the cusp of major breakthroughs. We're pretty much banking on this being the funniest film of the summer. (June 12th)

July: Public Enemies (dir. Michael Mann)

The last time Michael Mann directed two heavyweight lead actors in a summer blockbuster he gave us Miami Vice, a movie which still plays best with the sound off. This time around Mr. Mann tells the story of John Dillinger with (we hope!) better results. Johnny Depp portrays the famous bank robber while Christian Bale is the FBI agent tracking him down. In case you were wondering: you have to go all the way back to Forrest Gump in 1994 to find a Best Picture winner that was released in July. (July 1st)

August: Taking Woodstock (dir. Ang Lee)

This will be your girlfriend's favorite movie of the summer. Just look at the cast: Emile Hirsch, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Liev Schreiber, Paul Dano and Demetri Martin. While the comedic tone of Taking Woodstock seems like a departure for Ang Lee, perhaps it'll be a welcome one. After Brokeback Mountain and Lust, Caution, the guy needs to lighten up. (August 14th)

September: The Informant (dir. Steven Soderbergh)

You know that Steven Soderbegh comedy you've been waiting for? Here 'tis! Matt Damon stars as the titular whistleblower, a former vice president helping the government in a case against his agri-business employer. Sounds serious until you check out the rest of the cast: Patton Oswalt, 30 Rock's Scott Adsit, Tony Hale, Mike O'Malley, Paul F. Thompkins and Joel McHale from The Soup. Hell, even Biff from Back to the Future shows up. Expect laughs and wackiness. Think The Insider mixed with Out of Sight. (September 18th)

October: Shutter Island (dir. Martin Scorsese)

Martin Scorsese's first feature film since winning the Oscar for The Departed once again stars Leonardo DiCaprio and takes place in Boston. The similarities end there. Based on the Dennis Lehane book, Shutter Island is set in 1954 and finds Mr. DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo as a pair of U.S. marshals sent to the remote island to find an escaped mental patient. One of these days, Mr. DiCaprio is going to get his Oscar. Perhaps this is the movie. (October 2nd)

November: The Box (dir. Richard Kelly)

We think we'd be pretty excited to see The Box even if Arcade Fire wasn't scoring the entire movie. The premise is Twilight Zone-ready: a married couple (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) discovers a mysterious box on their doorstep, which if opened gives them instant wealth. The only catch? Opening it kills someone they don't know. Richard Kelly, he of Donnie Darko and Southland Tales, directs, meaning: Expect some insanity. (November 6th)

December: The Lovely Bones (dir. Peter Jackson)

Based on the acclaimed book by Alice Siebold, The Lovely Bones is Peter Jackson's first film since spending the last decade dealing with orcs and giant apes. Atonement pill Saoirse Ronan stars as a murdered young girl who watches over her family—and her killer—from heaven. Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz play the parents, which is fine, until you remember that Ryan Gosling could have been the star. Unfortunately, he was supposedly fired for gaining too much weight. Mr. Gosling might not talk to animals, but he's a way better actor than Mr. Wahlberg. Early, early prediction: Expect Oscar heat for Susan Sarandon as the grandmother. (December 11th)

Mark Wahlberg will replace him.