WARNER BROS. BOX OFFICE CHAMP OF 2010

Twentieth Century Fox may have had the biggest box office moneymaker of the year in Avatar. And Disney may have had No. 2 and 3 in Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland, but Warner Bros. earned more money throughout the year than either of them, coming in as the box office champ for the third year in a row with $1.88 billion in domestic ticket sales, while Paramount placed second with $1.74 billion. As many box office observers had predicted, the total domestic gross from all studios for 2010 came in a tad lower than for 2009, declining 1.4 percent to $10.46 billion against 2009’s record $10.61 billion. While many reports have noted that the box office was boosted considerably by 3D surcharges — attendance was reportedly down to its lowest level since 1996 — Daily Variety pointed out today (Tuesday) that Warners’ and Paramount’s biggest live-action hits were the 2D Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Iron Man 2