Avatar Closes In On Box Office Record

Blockbuster Avatar has maintained its tight grip on the top spot at the U.S. Box office for the sixth week running - taking $36 million in the past week.

James Cameron's 3D adventure has now earned $552 million in America, putting it within touching distance of the current box office record holder, the director's 1997 epic Titanic - which took $601 million.

Paul Bettany's post-apocalypse thriller Legion took $18.2 million to secure second place, ahead of Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman's The Book of Eli.

The week's big disappointment was Harrison Ford drama Extraordinary Measures, which took just $7 million during its opening weekend.