Sooner or later it was going to happen. “Avatar” getting dethroned, but who suspected a chick flick would kick the sci-fi epic out of the top spot at the domestic Box Office. Yet, that’s just what occurred on this Super Bowl weekend. The military love story, “Dear John” trounced “Avatar” with an estimated $32 million debut to become the number one film in the country.
“Dear John” stars Channing Tatum as a U.S. Special Forces Army sergeant who falls in love with a college student played by Amanda Seyfried, however, their romance gets tested when the sergeant re-enlists after the 9-11 attacks. “Dear John” is based on the best selling novel of the same title by Nicholas Sparks, who has had four of his other books turned into movies as well: “Message in a Bottle (199),” “A Walk to Remember (2002),” “The Notebook (2004),” and “Nights in Rodanthe (2008).”
The mega-hit, “Avatar” slipped to second after seven weeks at number one with around $23.6 million, bringing its domestic take to a humongous $630 million. In third, earning $8 million, another new film, “From Paris With Love.” It’s an action/spy thriller shot in Paris, starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
The Mel Gibson crime drama, “Edge of Darkness” came in fourth with $7 million, followed by the family comedy “Tooth Fairy” in fifth with about $6.5 million.
