'Avatar' looks like a hit

The much-hyped James Cameron sci-fi adventure "Avatar" looks like it will dominate the weekend box office based on its opening Friday.

Brandon Gray of BoxOfficeMojo.com reports that "Avatar" took in $27 million on approximately 7,000 screens at 3,452 sites (including $3.5 million from its midnight start). The picture's 3D presentations at 2,038 sites accounted for 58 percent of the gross.

The opening day receipts stand as the third highest-grossing ever for a December release, Gray says, just behind "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (which took in $34.5 million) and "I Am Legend" (which took in $30.1 million.)

More analysis from Gray:

"Avatar" ranks 33rd among all movies, although several other December pictures were greater in terms of attendance. Among other comparable titles, Avatar had a far more prodigious beginning than the King Kong remake, another long, computer-generated spectacle, and its first day was about the same as Star Trek from earlier this year.

Back in December 1997, the previous movie from "Avatar" director James Cameron, "Titanic," garnered $8.7 million on its opening day, which would equal around $14 million adjusted for ticket price inflation. The romantic epic had the second highest-grossing December launch on record at the time (behind "Scream 2"), and, remarkably, kept posting blockbuster grosses week-in and week-out. "Titanic" was the grand exception, and Avatar is not likely to see similar longevity, but December releases do typically make more than their openings would suggest at other times of the year, due to the nature of the holidays.

The big problem for "Avatar" is the massive snowstorm traveling up the East Cost, which will probably discourage movie attendance tonight and Sunday.