"Avatar" debuts atop Korean box office

James Cameron's new film "Avatar" made a splashy debut in Korea, opening at No. 1 on the local box office this weekend.

According to estimates released by Korea Box Office Information System (KOBIS) on Monday, "Avatar" attracted 1,380,358 viewers for the weekend of December 18-20. The sci-fi action flick has already drawn over 1.6 million viewers since its release on December 17.

"Law Abiding Citizen", starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler, remained at second place with 160,616 viewers over the weekend while vampire flick "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" dropped two places to No. 3 with 142,157 viewers.

Korean thriller film "Saving My Wife" came in fourth with 94,692 viewers while Hollywood blockbuster "2012" still made the top five with 86,546 viewers over a month after its release. "2012" has attracted over 5.3 million viewers in Korea since its release on November 12.

Other movies included in the top ten were; "Actresses", "Girlfriends", "Ninja Assassin", "A Christmas Carol" and "The Descendants of Hong Gil-dong".

Lynn Kim lynn2878@asiae.co.kr