Weekend Wrap… New No. 1

It was undying love for romance that finally relegated “Avatar” to the number two spot for the weekend. Lasse Hallstrom’s “Dear John” debuted as the No. 1 movie with $32.4 million, knocking off “Avatar” after seven weekends in first place while setting a new record opening for Super Bowl weekend, topping “Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert” in 2008.

“It is very cool to know that it was our movie that audiences just totally embraced and made No. 1 for the weekend,” said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony. As for runaway blockbuster “Avatar,” he quipped, “I think they’re going to be fine in the long run.”

Considering Sony estimates female crowds made up 84 percent of the audience for “Dear John” it could fare quite well over the Valentine’s Day weekend which typically draws big date crowds with women often picking which film to see. Meaning? Even if your significant other went and saw it over the weekend, she still may drag you for a repeat viewing next weekend.
“Avatar” slipped to No. 2 with $23.6 million, raising its domestic total to $630.1 million. Directed by James Cameron, 20th Century Fox’s “Avatar” surpassed his own “Titanic,” which had held the domestic revenue record at $600.8 million.

“Avatar” had been No. 1 domestically longer than any movie since 1997’s “Titanic,” which held on at first place for 15 weekends. The studio was unconcerned that “Avatar” finally fell out of the top spot.

“It had to happen sometime,” said 20th Century Fox distribution executive Bert Livingston. “There’s nothing that could disappoint me with this movie.”
The weekend’s other new wide release, Lionsgate’s spy story “From Paris With Love,” opened at No. 3 with $8.1 million. The movie, from “Taken” director Pierre Morel, stars John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as CIA men trying to crack a terrorist plot. Since we’ve already discussed the films in the number one and two spots, here’s a look at Travolta’s latest, and of course, we want to know what you saw over Super Bowl weekend.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 12:40 pm and is filed under The Daily Muze.