Typically, movies have a big opening weekend and then drop the second weekend. But not "Avatar," the first James Cameron film in well over a decade.

"Avatar" pounded the box office again, this time leading what is being deemed by Hollywood.com as the biggest movie weekend ever, with $75 million. That is up some $2 million from the previous weekend, and has now reached $212.2 million.

It took the top spot after getting some fierce competition from Guy Ritchie and his latest outing "Sherlock Holmes," which did a strong $65.4 million. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" finished third with $50.2 million, giving it $77.1 million since it opened on Wednesday.

Overall, the top movies grossed more than $269 million, easily beating the previous record set the weekend of July 18, 2008, when the top movies included "The Dark Knight," "Hancock" and "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army," which grossed $260.8 million, according to Hollywood.com. The new third place weekend is this past Nov. 20 when "Twilight: New Moon" and "Planet 51" led the charge to $258.4 million.

That big weekend will be the cherry on top of a perfect 2009 for movie studios. Total ticket sales will top $10 billion for the first time -- about $10.5 billion estimated -- more than 9 percent better than 2008, and double what film studios were making in 1990, according to Hollywood.com. More than 1.4 billion tickets were sold, up 5 percent from the year before, and 200 million more than 20 years ago.

It looks like movies, especially those in 3-D, remain dominant in the entertainment industry, even with the economy making luxury expenses like movies less desirable. However, getting the chance to escape from reality has been a blessing in disguise for movie studios looking to turn 2009 into a record year.

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" will end 2009 as the year's highest grossing film with $402.1 million. Second is "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" with $302 million, according to Hollywood.com. "New Moon" is fifth with $274.6 million while "Star Trek" holds the sixth spot with $257.7 million.

"Avatar" is looking to finish seventh behind "Star Trek," but if it can make another $60 million before the week is out, which is not likely but still possible, it could surpass the J.J. Abrams film.

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is 10th with $179.9 million. "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," which was expected to bomb, finishes 16th with $150.2 million. "Terminator: Salvation" finishes 21st with $125.3 million. Rounding out the top 25 is "District 9" with $115.6 million.