Hollywood is ringing in this Christmas with it’s biggest box office weekend in history – grossing $278 million over the last three days. This tally beats the record set in July 2008 at $260.8 million when The Dark Knight was released.

Avatar, the latest James Cameron 3D epic, led the pack over the weekend, bringing in $75 million. So far, Avatar has grossed $212.3 million this weekend.

“What a weekend,” Bert Livingston of 20th Century Fox, which released Avatar, told USA Today. “I don’t ever remember that big a diversity. When the third picture does $50 million, you’ve got a good marketplace. When Christmas Day falls on a Friday, it’s the best day it could possibly be.”

Guy Ritchie grabbed runner up with Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams, which raked in a total of $65.4 million. Sherlock Holmes broke a Christmas Day box office record, grossing $24.9 million on its Christmas Day opening.

“We’re thrilled,” Dan Fellman, distribution chief for Warner Bros., told USA Today. He said Holmes made almost $10 million more than expected. “We were looking for somewhere in the low to mid-$50 million range and we have been very pleased with that, but when Christmas Day came around we blew away every record in the book.”

Alvin and the Chipmunks (The Squeakuel) came in third with $50 million, followed by It’s Complicated, starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, and Up in the Air with George Clooney.

“Though it seems counter-intuitive that people would want to spend money in this economy on such a ‘luxury’ item as a movie ticket, they perceive it as a bargain compared to other entertainment options and that has paid off big time for Hollywood,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office division of Hollywood.com, told the Wall Street Journal’s Speakeasy blog via email.

Dergarabedian suggested 2009 could be the industry’s highest-grossing year ever, with a potential gross of $10.5 billion.

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A paternity test has confirmed what Jude Law already admitted. The Sherlock Holmes star is, in fact, the father of Samantha Burke’s daughter, Sophia, reports E! News.

“Since the birth of her daughter, Sophia, there have been a number of reports in the media questioning paternity,” said Burke’s representative, Eileen Koch. “In response to those questions, Samantha can firm that DNA testing has conclusively established that Jude Law is Sophia’s father. Samantha and Sophia are doing well and appreciate all of the well wishes they have received.”

The baby, born Sept. 22, was the product of a brief flight between the current Broadway star, 36, and the aspiring model, 24.

“I can advise that, as per Jude’s original statement, he considers this an entirely private matter and will be making no further comment – nor us on his behalf,” said Law’s London representative, Sara Keene.

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