4 Jan – James Cameron's science-fiction epic "Avatar" had stellar weekend worldwide collecting an impressive box office taking of US$1.02 billion. Currently, the picture now ranks as the fourth highest-grossing film ever worldwide, surpassing "The Dark Knight" (US$1 billion) and, in a matter of days, it will leap frog over "The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King" (US$1.12 billion) and "Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (US$1.07 billion) to claim second place behind "Titanic"' (US$1.84 billion), according to online tracker Box Office Mojo. Based on reports from various cinemas chains in Malaysia, the film maintains it success in the country as it topped the list at most major cinema locations for three weeks straight, bearing an encouraging response for the 3-D version as well. Meanwhile, family-friendly "Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" and Robert Downey Jr.'s "Sherlock Holmes" is still high in demand over the New Year weekend, as what is regarded as the last school holiday weekend before school resumes. However, bad news for the two movies by the late Australian actor and Malaysian filmmaker, Heath Ledger and Yasmin Ahmad, as their films was not well received over the weekend at GSC Mid Valley. Heath Ledger's final show "The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus" did so-so on its opening weekend, while Yasmins Ahmad's "Muallaf" performed badly despite being deemed as "The Film Malaysia Has Been Waiting For", according to the cinema manager Mr Lee Kong Yew. After Ledger died midway through production of Terry Gilliam's new film, actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell took turns playing Ledger's role as Tony in "The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus".