'Avatar' holds on to UK box office crown

Avatar has continued its dominance of the UK box office, emerging as the number one film on its seventh weekend in cinemas.

New Mel Gibson release Edge Of Darkness failed to halt James Cameron's sci-fi blockbuster, which yesterday scooped nine Oscar nominations. Darkness lands at three, narrowly behind Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, while Sherlock Holmes and It's Complicated round out the top five.

Elsewhere, Precious performed well after getting a release in 47 cinemas across the UK. The Harlem-set drama, which stars Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique and Mariah Carey, enters the chart at number nine with more than £260,000 in ticket sales.

This weekend sees the release of Astro Boy and Invictus, with both movies hoping to end Avatar's record-breaking chart run.

The UK box office top ten in full:

1. (1) Avatar - £4,865,081
2. (3) Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel - £1,195,220
3. (-) Edge Of Darkness - £1,172,927
4. (2) Sherlock Holmes - £1,149,268
5. (5) It's Complicated - £849,416
6. (4) Up In The Air - £735,463
7. (6) Toy Story 2 - £690,291
8. (7) The Book Of Eli - £484,983
9. (-) Precious - £260,921
10. (8) Daybreakers - £238,849