'Dear John' bumps 'Avatar' with $32.4M debut

LOS ANGELES – A sci-fi adulation adventure has accustomed way to an earthbound affair at the box office, livening up about apathetic times at theaters over Super Bowl weekend.

Released by Sony's Screen Gems banner, "Dear John" debuted as the No. 1 cine with $32.4 million, animadversion off "Avatar" afterwards seven weekends in aboriginal place, according to flat estimates Sunday.

"It is actual air-conditioned to apperceive that it was our cine that audiences aloof actually accepted and fabricated No. 1 for the weekend," said Rory Bruer, arch of administration at Sony. As for delinquent blockbuster "Avatar," he quipped, "I anticipate they're activity to be accomplished in the continued run."

"Avatar" slipped to No. 2 with $23.6 million, adopting its calm absolute to $630.1 million. Directed by James Cameron, 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" surpassed his own "Titanic," which had captivated the calm acquirement almanac at $600.8 million.

With a almanac $2.2 billion worldwide, "Avatar" additionally has soared accomplished the $1.8 billion "Titanic" took in globally.

Factoring in today's college acceptance prices, however, "Avatar" has awash beneath tickets than "Titanic."

"Avatar" had been No. 1 domestically best than any cine aback 1997's "Titanic," which captivated on at aboriginal abode for 15 weekends. The flat was aloof that "Avatar" assuredly fell out of the top spot.

"It had to appear sometime," said 20th Century Fox administration controlling Bert Livingston. "There's annihilation that could abort me with this movie."

By the eighth weekend, best Hollywood movies accept continued aback alone out of the top 10 rankings.

"Avatar" still is activity able afterwards eight weeks, with the added afterglow of a monthlong accretion to the Academy Awards on March 7. Following the archetype of Oscar champ "Titanic," "Avatar" angry for the advance at the Academy Awards with nine nominations and is a beloved to win best picture.

Fox admiral would not brainstorm what cardinal "Avatar" eventually ability hit at the box office.

"Who knows what that is? It aloof keeps on going," Livingston said.

The weekend's added new advanced release, Lionsgate's spy adventure "From Paris With Love," opened at No. 3 with $8.1 million. The cine stars John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as CIA men aggravating to able a agitator plot.

Fox Searchlight's acclaimed country-music account "Crazy Heart" broadcast from attenuated absolution and bankrupt into the top 10, advancing in at No. 8 with $3.7 million. Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal accept acting Oscar nominations for the film, which follows a boozy country brilliant aggravating to about-face his activity around.

While "Avatar" appearance a human-alien affair light-years away, "Dear John" centers on a long-distance adulation adventure amid a soldier (Channing Tatum) and his sweetheart (Amanda Seyfried) aback home.

"Dear John" had a almanac aperture for Super Bowl weekend, topping the $31.1 actor admission for "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" in 2008.

The cine was based on the atypical by Nicholas Sparks, whose Hollywood adaptations such as "The Notebook" and "A Walk to Remember" accept been abiding draws for women. Changeable crowds fabricated up 84 percent of the admirers for "Dear John," according to Sony.

Sparks "creates these belief that actually cull at your heartstrings, and actually that may be aboriginal and foremost for women rather than men, admitting I anticipate a few of us accept hearts, too," Bruer said. "But his belief actually bell and are actual acute for women."

That bodes able-bodied for the cine over Valentine's Day weekend, said Geoffrey Ammer, arch of business for Relativity Media, which produced "Dear John." Valentine's weekend draws big date crowds, with women generally acrimonious which blur to see.

Business on Sunday was predictably apathetic as football admirers watched the Super Bowl instead of activity to the movies. But "Dear John" already exceeded industry expectations with $26.2 actor on Friday and Saturday.

"Super Bowl weekend isn't about men. It's about women," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "This counter-programming action aloof actually works, the changeable admirers affective a cine to aberrant heights."

Hollywood could use added beginning hits like "Dear John" if it hopes to bout 2009's almanac box appointment pace. The aboriginal brace of weeks this year, "Avatar" had acquirement and appearance active able-bodied advanced of aftermost year.

But revenues accept now beneath for four beeline weekends. So far in 2010, calm revenues are at $1.2 billion, 1.5 percent advanced of aftermost year's, according to Hollywood.com.

Factoring in college admission prices this year, though, cine appearance is bottomward 0.5 percent.

Estimated admission sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final abstracts will be appear Monday.

1. "Dear John," $32.4 million.

2. "Avatar," $23.6 million.

3. "From Paris With Love," $8.1 million.

4. "Edge of Darkness," $7 million.

5. "The Tooth Fairy," $6.5 million.

6. "When in Rome," $5.5 million.

7. "The Book of Eli," $4.8 million.

8. "Crazy Heart," $3.7 million.

9. "Legion," $3.4 million.

10. "Sherlock Holmes," $2.6 million.

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Universal Pictures and Focus Appearance are endemic by NBC Universal, a assemblage of General Electric Co.; Sony Pictures, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount and Paramount Vantage are capacity of Viacom Inc.; Disney's ancestor is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a analysis of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox Atomic are endemic by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is endemic by a bunch of Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corp., Comcast Corp., DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group; Lionsgate is endemic by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is endemic by Rainbow Media Holdings, a accessory of Cablevision Systems Corp.; Rogue Pictures is endemic by Relativity Media LLC; Overture Films is a accessory of Liberty Media Corp.