Audiences followed Tim Burton down the rabbit hole en masse this weekend, propelling the director’s 3D extravaganza, Alice In Wonderland, to the sixth biggest opening weekend ever (and giving Johnny Depp his third entry on the list of the 10 biggest opening weekends). The Disney flick blew past industry expectations—in the $70 million range—to stack $116.3 million in receipts this weekend, aided in part by higher 3D ticket prices and a robust IMAX representation. Between the success of Alice and Avatar, which is still chugging along at No. 5 this weekend with another $7.7 million, expect the 3D tide to keep on rising, along with ticket prices.
The weekend’s other new film, Brooklyn’s Finest, is duking it out for second with another R-rated crime thriller, Shutter Island. Estimates have Brooklyn’s Finest at No. 2 with $13.5 million and Shutter Island at No. 3 with $13.3 million, but that could change when final numbers are reported on Monday.
Cop Out dropped 50 percent in its second weekend, falling from No. 2 to No. 4 with $9.15 million, while The Crazies dropped from No. 3 to 6 in its sophomore showing with $7.02 million. At No. 7, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief took in another $5.1 million despite the bite Alice took out of the family-film contingent, while No. 8 Valentine’s Day brought in another $4.27 million in date-night dollars. Crazy Heart got a small Oscar-weekend bump from No. 10 to No. 9 with $3.35 million and an added 126 theaters—expect a bigger bump next weekend following Jeff Bridges’ win last night for Best Actor. (Summit also capitalized on Oscar buzz by re-releasing The Hurt Locker in limited release, taking in another $439,000 over 276 theaters, even though the film is currently on DVD.) Dear John rounds things out in the top 10 with $2.85 million.
More detailed numbers can be found at boxofficemojo.com