British director Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes set a Christmas Day sales record at the box office in North America, taking a narrow lead over last weekend's champ, Avatar, according to early estimates released on Saturday.
Sherlock Holmes, in which Robert Downey Jr reinvents the ascetic Victorian sleuth as a dashing superhero, earned $24.9 million during its first day of release on Friday, distributor Warner Bros Pictures said.
The record for a Christmas Day opening was set last year when Marley and Me launched with $14.4 million.
Avatar earned $23.5 million on Friday, taking the eight-day total for director James Cameron's costly 3-D extravaganza to $160.8 million, said 20th Century Fox.
Fox also released Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, which opened at No 3 with $14.5 million. The family-oriented sequel got an early start on the holiday by opening on Wednesday, and its total stands at $41.3 million.
Betty Thomas directed the follow-up to the 2007 live-action animated hit that grossed more than $360 million worldwide.
Another new release, director Nancy Meyers' It's Complicated, followed at No 4 after earning $7.1 million during its first day on Friday. The Universal Pictures comedy stars Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.
Up in the Air rose three places to No 5 in its first weekend of national release, with Friday sales of $3.7 million.
Director Jason Reitman's meditation on love and loneliness in corporate America has earned $16.4 million since Paramount Pictures released it in 15 theaters on December 4.
The studios will release data for the Friday-Sunday period on Sunday.
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