The romantic drama Dear John unexpectedly beat Avatar over the weekend, grossing an impressive $30.469 million to Avatar’s $22.851 million. Before these finals were released, Avatar had actually grossed just enough to become the new eighth weekend record holder, but it fell just short of Titanic’s record.
But don’t feel bad for Cameron and crew, including overseas receipts of $1.58 billion and domestic receipts of $629.344 million, Avatar stands at a massive $2.209 billion, which means it added an incredible $166 million over the course of the last week (Monday-Sunday).
The other new release was the Pierre Morel action drama From Paris with Love starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The $52-million budgeted film disappointed with only $8.159 million from 2,722 theaters. Head on over the jump for the weekend chart.
| MOVIE TITLE | WEEKEND GROSS | % CHANGE | THEATERS | CHANGE | TOTAL GROSS | |
| 1 | Dear John | $30,468,614 | NEW | 2,969 | NEW | $30,468,614 |
| 2 | Avatar | $22,850,881 | -26.9% | 3,000 | -74 | $629,344,204 |
| 3 | From Paris with Love | $8,158,860 | NEW | 2,722 | NEW | $8,158,860 |
| 4 | Edge of Darkness | $6,855,371 | -60.2% | 3,066 | n/c | $28,947,851 |
| 5 | Tooth Fairy | $6,629,595 | -33.7% | 3,218 | -127 | $34,462,568 |
| 6 | When in Rome | $5,549,129 | -55.1% | 2,456 | n/c | $20,944,734 |
| 7 | The Book of Eli | $4,717,335 | -47.0% | 2,820 | -255 | $82,045,140 |
| 8 | Crazy Heart | $3,567,671 | +54.5% | 819 | +580 | $11,105,401 |
| 9 | Legion (2010) | $3,453,651 | -51.9% | 2,339 | -137 | $34,731,934 |
| 10 | Sherlock Holmes | $2,535,174 | -43.9% | 1,805 | -445 | $201,484,470 |
Source: Box Office Mojo
