‘Dear John’ Dethrones ‘Avatar’ at Box Office

Published by Jeff Leins on: February 9th, 2010

Avatar’s reign over the box office is over.  In a surprise upset, storybook romance film Dear John ended the streak during the sci-fi epic’s eighth weekend.

The Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried drama made $30.5 million in its debut, doubling the opening take of the five other adaptations of Nicholas Sparks novels.  The most successful one to date is 2004’s The Notebook.  Sony’s counter-programming during Super Bowl XLIV paid off, and Dear John became the biggest movie to open from Friday to Super Bowl Sunday.

The game, a huge ratings winner, played a role in the James Cameron film finally slipping to second place with $22.9 million after a historic run at the top.  The 3D film already holds the records for highest-grossing movie domestically and globally.  It’s just a matter of how high the $2.2 billion worldwide total will climb.

In third was Lionsgate’s action movie From Paris with Love with John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Taken’s Pierre Morel.  The crime thriller opened to just $8.2 million, not quite the success Morel saw last year.  It seemed like an oversight to schedule it on the same weekend as the football game, especially after a strong marketing push aimed at older males.

The rest of the field took a step down for the two newcomers, but Fox Searchlight’s Crazy Heart saw a massive boost by the Oscar nomination of its star, Jeff Bridges, and an expansion to more locations.  The country western singer story made $3.6 million, good enough for the eight spot.

3-Day U.S. Weekend Actuals:
1. Dear John  $30.5 million
2. Avatar  $22.9 million
3. From Paris with Love  $8.2 million
4. Edge of Darkness  $6.9 million
5. Tooth Fairy  $6.6 million
6. When in Rome  $5.5 million
7. The Book of Eli  $4.7 million
8. Crazy Heart  $3.6 million
9. Legion  $3.5 million
10. Sherlock Holmes  $2.5 million