True Grit’s remarkable run continued as the Western closed out the first full weekend of 2011 on top courtesy of an estimated $15m gross.

The film crossed $100m in its third weekend and stands at $110.4m through Paramount – the first Western in a long time to cross the symbolic threshold.

Overall it was a slow session down 30% against the same period last year, although Avatar was still going strong in January 2009 and led to anomalous results.

Relativity Media’s poorly reviewed supernatural action release Season Of The Witch starring Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman as Crusader knights who escort a suspected witch to a monastery earned $10.7m in third place.

Fox Searchlight’s Black Swan continued a robust run as it climbed four places to fifth on $8.4m for $61.5m after six weekends, while Relativity Media’s The Fighter – another strong awards contender – dropped one place to seventh and has grossed $57.8m through paramount after five.

Country Strong starring Gwyneth Paltrow as a country singer on the comeback trail shot up from number 43 to six after expanding in the third weekend from two to 1,422 venues and earned $7.3m for an early $7.4m running total.

In eighth is The King’s Speech, released by The Weinsteins in North America, which stands at $33.3m after seven and is playing in a mere 758 theatres.

Next weekend’s wide release is Sony’s action comedy The Green Hornet starring Seth Rogen and Cameron Diaz; Universal’s comedy The Dilemma with Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Jennifer Connelly and Winona Ryder; and rom-com The Heart Specialist with Zoe Saldana through Freestyle Releasing.

Estimated Top 10 North America Jan 7-9, 2010

Film (Dist) / Est wkd gross / Est total to date

1 (2) True Grit (2010) (Paramount) PPI $15m $110.4m

2 (1) Little Fockers (Universal) PPI $13.8m $123.9m

3 (-) Season Of The Witch (Relativity) Relativity $10.7m –

4 (3) Tron: Legacy (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $9.8m $147.9m

5 (9) Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) Fox Int’l $8.4m $61.5m

6 (43) Country Strong (Screen Gems) SPRI $7.3m $7.4m

7 (6) The Fighter (Paramount) TWC/Relativity Media $7m $57.8m

8 (10) The King’s Speech (TWC) FilmNation $6.8m $33.3m

9 (4) Yogi Bear (Warner Bros) WBPI $6.8m $75.6m

10 (7) Tangled (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $5.2m $175.9m

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