Finally, FINALLY Avatar has been knocked off its box office throne – and it took one sexy dude to do it. Dear John, starring the incredibly hunky Channing Tatum, opened at No. 1, just as Avatar lost some of its steam after an eight-week run on top.
Here is the top five at the box office this weekend:
1. NEW! Dear John (Screen Gem) – $32.4 mil; 2,969 theaters; $10,913 PT
2. Avatar (Fox) – $23.6 mil; 3,000 theaters; $7,867 PT; $630 mil cume
3. NEW! From Paris with Love (Lionsgate) – $8.1 mil; 2,722 theaters; $2,983 PT
4. Edge of Darkness (Warner Bros.) – $7 mil; 3,066theaters; $2,285 PT; $29 mil cume
5. Tooth Fairy (Fox) – $6.5 mil; 3,218 theaters; $2,020 PT; $34.3 mil cume
Of course, Avatar couldn’t hold onto the top spot forever. There’s only so many people who’ll keep seeing it again and again. Plus, the testosterone surrounding the Super Bowl – the most watched Super Bowl of all time, apparently — probably hurt Avatar‘s business as well, while Tatum and his onscreen love Amanda Seyfried wooed the predominantly female audience. I thought maybe this coming weekend’s rom-com ensemble Valentine’s Day would dethrone Avatar, but at least I was in the same ballpark: romance + pretty people + a lovers holiday = box office success.
The other two films besides Valentine’s Day opening this weekend include Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, an kids book adaptation about a kid who finds out he’s the son of the Greek God Poseidon, and The Wolfman, with Benicio Del Toro as the guy who turns into a werewolf. I’m most curious about Wolfman, only because of Del Toro and Emily Blunt. Here’s the creepy trailer: