Fox films | Why Alvin's worth more than Avatar

Avatar's $1 billion in ticket sales may grab all the headlines for News Corp.'s Fox movie studio, which released the futuristic sci-fi blockbuster. But Fox's other holiday movie, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, may well be worth more, Rolfe Winkler argues on Reuters' Breaking Views website. Why? Avatar may well be a one-time event, given that it took director James Cameron 15 years to produce the epic.

But Alvin is a franchise, notes Winkler. He says the first film grossed $361 million worldwide, while the newest one has taken in $255 million after just 12 days.

Avatar is nothing to sneeze at, of course: It's expected to add $100 million "and counting" to NWS' $4 billion in operating profits, Winkler says. "But,'' he writes, "multiply by five the $40 million the Squeakquel is expected to squirrel away to reflect the likelihood the venerable franchise will endure.''

Related: read Winkler's article in full via The New York Times

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