How to Make Cash: Open a Movie Called “Valentine’s Day” ON Valentine’s Day

Pretty brilliant marketing, eh? I thought maybe Valentine’s Day would be the one to topple Avatar, but that was taken care of last weekend, when the other romantic flick Dear John did the honors. But V-Day still managed to help break records this past weekend, earning $66 million over the three-day Valentine’s/President’s Day weekend.

Here is the top five at the box office this weekend:

1. NEW! Valentine’s Day (Warner Bros.) – $66.8 mil; 3,665 theaters; $18,241 PT
2. NEW! Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Fox) – $38.7 mil; 3,356 theaters; $11,546 PT
3. NEW! The Wolfman (Universal) – $36.4 mil; 3,222 theaters; $11,325 PT
4. Avatar (Fox) – $30 mil; 2,685 theaters; $11,173 PT: $667.6 mil cume
5. Dear John (Screen Gem) – $18.8 mil; 2,975 theaters; $6,319 PT; $56.6 mil cume

With the top four all making $30 million or more, this President’s Day weekend is now the best one to date. I’m just glad things are getting rolling again, after a particularly dull January. This coming weekend, we’ve got Martin Scorsese’s psychological thriller Shutter Island, which got bumped from a fall release last year with a few new changes. I’m seeing it tomorrow night and can’t wait!