In this film publicity image released by 20th Century Fox, the character Neytiri, voiced by Zoe Saldana, right, and the character Jake, voiced by Sam Worthington are shown in a scene from, "Avatar." The film was nominated for a Golden Globe award for best motion picture drama, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009. The Golden Globe awards will be held Jan. 17 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Audiences are trekking to see James Cameron's science-fiction saga "Avatar," which has opened as the weekend's No. 1 film with $73 million domestically.
It's a strong start for a film opening in December, though it fell short of the $77.2 million record debut for the month set two years ago by Will Smith's "I Am Legend.
"Avatar" stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana in a love story amid human-alien conflict on a distant moon in the 22nd century.
The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, the animated musical "The Princess and the Frog," slipped to second place with $12.2 million, raising its total to $44.8 million.
