We all knew News Corp.'s (NWS) Avatar would cede the top spot to some film someday. To be honest, I didn't think Sony's (SNE) Dear John would be the one to do it.

According to Box Office Mojo, John grossed roughly $32 million at domestic theaters. That was more than enough to put the sci-fi flick in second place. However, no one should feel sad for News Corp.; Avatar's worldwide haul now stands at over $2.2 billion.

Did you think Mel Gibson had a chance this past weekend? Probably not. By now, we're all used to seeing News Corp.s (NWS) Avatar take the top spot. And for those keeping score, this is the seventh victory in a row for James Cameron (who, by the way, may offer lessons for entrepreneurs, according to Tom Taulli).

According to early estimates from Box Office Mojo, Avatar made another $30 million at domestic theaters over the past three days. At the time of this writing, the worldwide gross was just under $2 billion (it will definitely go over $2 billion, don't worry). Time Warner's (TWX) Edge of Darkness, starring the aforementioned Gibson, wasn't even close to a challenge for the 3-D aliens. Give it some credit, though: It came in second with $17 million.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) hasn't fully succeeded with its film model. The company's slate has yet to produce a bona fide hit yet. Because of this, management has decided to change the strategy governing the operations of the WWE Studios asset.

WWE has elected to take over the marketing/distribution chores for its movies, ditching previous partners Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF) and News Corp. (NWS) in the process, as this article at Variety indicates. However, there's an even bigger change that all shareholders should focus on.

Time Warner's (TWX) The Book of Eli did a commendable job of attempting to dethrone News Corp.'s (NWS) Avatar from the top spot. In the end, it failed. James Cameron has produced a hit that will simply not be stopped. At the time of this writing, early estimates from Box Office Mojo credited the picture with capturing another $41 million over the past weekend at domestic theaters. Avatar is closing in on $500 million, an accomplishment which makes you wonder if this is the wintertime or the summertime.

Eli came in second with $31 million. A reasonably good start for Time Warner considering the power of News Corp.'s new Titanic; word of mouth is now key to propelling the apocalyptic project into solid blockbuster status. The film reportedly has a budget of $80 million attached to it, so hopefully the worldwide gross will be stellar even if the domestic take falters.

Here's an interesting article over at ICv2.com. As you may have heard, the Spider-Man franchise is about to undergo a mutation. Sony (SNE) apparently had creative differences with director Sam Raimi over the script for the fourth iteration in the series featuring Tobey Maguire as the titular character. This unfortunately led to a parting of the ways, and the need for a reboot, as they say in Hollywood.

There's an interesting business aspect to the deal that makes it imperative for Sony to come out with a new Spider-Man on a pretty regular basis. The rights will revert back to Marvel if Sony does nothing with them. Guess it's a use-it-or-lose-it deal.

You just can't stop News Corp.'s (NWS) Avatar. James Cameron's epic 3D picture grossed $48 million at domestic theaters over the weekend, as of early estimates from Box Office Mojo. This puts the grand total at almost $430 million (worldwide, Avatar has made well over a billion bucks). Amazing for this time of year.

News Corp. is also counting its money from Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, which is ranked in third place at the time of this writing; its total gross now stands at roughly $178 million. Coming in second is Time Warner's (TWX) Sherlock Holmes action adventure. It's possible Holmes and Squeakquel could change places once final numbers are released, since both are credited with similar weekend amounts. Nevertheless, Holmes has now raked in about $165 million.

News Corp.'s (NWS) Avatar is exploding like a blinding supernova at the box office. Although I have no interest in seeing it, I undoubtedly must be one of the only people on the planet who lacks the need to become immersed in the 3-D adventure. According to early estimates at Box Office Mojo, James Cameron's "titanic" cinematic beast scored another $68 million at domestic theaters over the New Year's weekend. Total so far: better than $350 million.

Time Warner's (TWX) take on a famous literary detective had to settle for second place yet again. Sherlock Holmes pulled in $38 million. Coming in third was the Alvin and the Chipmunks sequel, also released by News Corp. Indeed, there's no shortage of excitement at the multiplex.

Shareholders of News Corp. (NWS) are probably happy this Monday as two of the company's films -- Avatar and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel -- did very well over the three-day holiday weekend.

James Cameron's Avatar topped the charts at domestic theaters, pulling in an estimated $75 million, according to Box Office Mojo. If the project can continue to attract moviegoers in large droves, as well as propagate a lot of repeat business, then it should break even before it hits other distribution channels.

It was the weekend that everyone was waiting for. The debut of James Cameron's Avatar was an event approaching mythic dimension: Don't tell me you didn't know it was coming, because I wouldn't believe you for a nanosecond. The hype was out there, and it became a self-replicating, viral zeitgeist able to cross multiple mediums with ease. Its marketing message dominated the collective cinematic discussion, and even though it didn't possess the brand access of Time Warner's (TWX) The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Which is why I found the domestic opening of the project quite puzzling. I thought Avatar, distributed by News Corp. (NWS), was worth a heck of a lot more than $77 million, which is what the film grossed, according to Box Office Mojo.

DreamWorks Animation (DWA), a producer of computer-animated movies that competes with Disney (DIS), News Corp. (NWS), and others, closed about a nickel away from the 52-week high on Monday. At $39.20, is the stock getting ahead of itself?

Possibly, but there's much to consider with this situation. Although I don't relish looking at stocks when they've already made a move, you have to give some credit to DreamWorks Animation and its film-franchise business model. Indeed, the company is creating valuable intellectual properties capable of spinning off future sequels for purposes of capturing cash flow. Not only that, but television is set to become a larger part of the business plan.

When I first saw the box-office results for this past weekend, I was of two minds about Disney's (DIS) The Princess and the Frog. As of early estimates at Box Office Mojo, Princess took in $25 million at domestic theaters, good for first place.

That's pretty cool, right? Maybe even more than pretty cool, one would think. It's not an insignificant sum of money. Plus, Princess finished ahead of strong competitors such as Time Warner's (TWX) The Blind Side and Summit Entertainment's The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

Shareholders of Time Warner (TWX) should be pretty happy this week. The media company's new film, The Blind Side, beat the latest Twilight picture. No, it won't make the stock go up, but I'm sure studio execs were excited by the fact that Blind Side held up well during its second weekend out in the marketplace.

According to early estimates over at Box Office Mojo, Blind Side grossed $20 million at domestic theaters while The Twilight Saga: New Moon, distributed by Summit Entertainment, made roughly $15 million. Obviously Time Warner benefited from the satiation of demand on New Moon, which has so far taken in over $250 million.

There was never any question that Summit Entertainment's Twilight Saga: New Moon would be the number one movie this weekend, there was just a question about how much the movie would gross. We now have the answer: a real, real lot.

According to early estimates at Box Office Mojo, New Moon made $140 million at domestic theaters. To put this in perspective, this means that the vampire flick now occupies the third spot on the chart of best opening weekends (behind Dark Knight and Spiderman 3). Truly impressive, especially when you consider that we're not in the summertime.

Last week, I discussed my disappointment with Disney's (DIS) A Christmas Carol. As a shareholder of the Mouse, I remain dissatisfied with the performance. However, this past weekend's theatrical take of the film makes me a little happier.

According to early estimates at Box Office Mojo, Carol scored about $22 million at domestic theaters, making it the second most popular film of the three-day period. Sure, it wasn't number one, but given the fact that Carol made $30 million last weekend, I'd say you have to give it some credit for avoiding a significant percentage drop. So far, it has generated more than $60 million in revenue.

When I discussed Lions Gate Entertainment's (LGF) first-quarter results, I noted the disappointing statement of cash flows. Unfortunately, the company didn't do much better in the second quarter. For the six-month period, Lions Gate used over $160 million for operations compared to the roughly $40 million used in the similar frame one year ago.

Of course, cash flow doesn't always get the most coverage. Investors tend to get more excited by a swing to profitability. On that count, Lions Gate scored admirably, earning 26 cents per diluted share versus losing 44 cents per diluted share twelve months prior. Earnings.com indicates that analysts were really underestimating the Q2 income potential here: the call was for 6 cents per share.