James Cameron's latest flick, Avatar, has under performed at the North American box office. It's opening weekend tally is $72 million dollars. It was expected to do upward of $85 million in that time frame. The film cost $200 million dollars to make, with an additional $35-$50 million to market and advertise.

Avatar's impact is somewhat like that of "Watchmen." Big budget, a lot of hype, then massive fizzle. The box office numbers are not far apart as well.

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Box Office Report: 'Avatar' takes No. 1 with $73 million

After months of breathless buzz, speculation, and doubt, James Cameron’s Avatar finally arrived in movie theaters nationwide, and its box office prognosis definitely isn’t blue. The 3-D sci-fi epic landed at number one with an estimated $73 million, according to Hollywood.com Box Office.

The number is certainly on the lower end of expectations for the long-anticipated film, but considering that much of the east coast was buried under record snowfall for most of the weekend, it remains an unambiguously solid opening — the best 3-D debut ever and the second-best December debut behind I Am Legend.

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