Titanic director James Cameron's Avatar, a 3-D extravaganza hyped as a giant leap in cinematic prowess, earned an estimated 73 million dollars (USD) during its first weekend at the North American box office.The opening for the costly sci-fi film fell short of industry forecasts in the $85 million (USD) range, but the studio said the tally beat its internal projections, and noted that an enormous snow storm along the East Coast crippled business for all movies. The film also earned $159 million (USD) from 106 foreign markets.
