New York ? It was a memorable and merry Christmas in Hollywood as moviegoers shattered box-office records, responding in droves to a diverse array of high-profile releases over the holiday weekend.

The estimated $278 million in weekend box-office revenue broke the previous record of roughly $253 million set in July 2008, the weekend “The Dark Knight” was released.

A diverse group of films drew throngs to the multiplexes: James Cameron’s “Avatar” pushed strongly into its second week while “Sherlock Holmes,” “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” and “It’s Complicated” all opened.

“Avatar,” the 3-D epic, topped them all, earning $75 million for 20th Century Fox, according to studio estimates Sunday. That was only a 3 percent drop from its opening weekend total of $77.4 million. (Blockbusters typically drop 30 percent-50 percent in the second weekend.) In its 10 days of release, “Avatar” has made $212 million domestically — and could be on its way to a worldwide gross of over $1 billion.

In second was “Sherlock Holmes,” Guy Ritchie’s reboot of the franchise with Robert Downey Jr. starring as the detective. The Warner Bros. film opened with a weekend total of $65.4 million, including a record Christmas Day debut of $24.9 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com.

1. “Avatar,” $75 million.

2. “Sherlock Holmes,” $65.4 million.

3. “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” $50.2 million.

4. “It’s Complicated,” $22.1 million.

5. “Up in the Air,” $11.8 million.

6. “The Blind Side,” $11.7 million.

7. “The Princess and the Frog,” $8.7 million.

8. “Nine,” $5.5 million.

9. “Did You Hear About the Morgans?” $5 million.

10. “Invictus,” $4.4 million.