AVATAR BLASTS OFF WITH $232 MILLION WORLDWIDE OPENING AT THE BOX OFFICE!

"Avatar" beat the snowstorm to rake in a blizzard of bucks at the box office.
The $400 million sci-fi epic took the top spot in the snowbound box office with an estimated $73 million at home and an even bigger $159.2 million abroad.

"It was epic," says Rocalisa Kartzar, 18, of Manhattan. "It was cheesy in some parts, but you barely notice it."

Kartzar's friend Felipe Hoyos was also impressed.

"The visuals are organic, and the sound is perfect," said Felipe, 16, also of Manhattan.

The flick by "Titanic" director James Cameron stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana in an intergalactic love and war story set on a distant planet called Pandora.

The film boasted revolutionary special effects that used 3-D cameras specially designed for the film.

"Avatar" missed expert predictions for an $85 million opening weekend. It also failed to outpace Will Smith's "I Am Legend" as having the biggest weekend opening in December.

Experts blamed the film's failure to break records on the weekend blizzard that kept moviegoers on the East Coast stuck at home.

Ticket sales in New York fell 18% on Saturday from Friday as the storm shut the city down.

"Avatar" may still take in $320 million to $400 million domestically. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is the top-grossing movie of the year.

"Avatar" is Cameron's first dramatic feature since 1997's "Titanic." The film has already scored Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture Drama and Best Director.

At the AMC Loews Theater on W.34thSt., most movie buffs left soldout showings of "Avatar" impressed by Cameron's titanic filmmaking skills.

"It was more awesome than awesome," says Brandon Ellis, 11, who watched the movie with his father, Rodney Ellis. "I liked the dragons and mostly everything."

Not everybody loved the plot.

"The visuals were good, but the characters were one-dimensional, and it was really long," says Bona Ko, 21, a college student from the upper East Side.

Lori Wood and her son Justin spent their day trying and failing to get into an "Avatar" screening at the Loews theater.

They had tickets for the 5 p.m. showing, but arrived at the theater to find only one seat available.

"The seat was in the front row, and I don't think the 3-D would work from that angle," says Justin Wood, 22.

The two were able to trade their tickets for an 8 p.m. showing and planned to arrive an hour early to secure seats.

"I know it's going to be good," said Justin Wood.

Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" placed second at the box office with $12.2million.

Sandra Bullock's football drama "The Blind Side" came in No. 3 at $10 million.

"Did You Hear About the Morgans?" starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant, debuted in fourth with sales of $7million.