And all is right with the world again. After months of “Avatar” domination followed by the thankfully brief reigns of “Dear John” and “Valentine’s Day,” “Shutter Island,” took home a win and a whopping $40 million. Though we’re of two minds on Martin Scorsese’s genre chiller, it’s hard not to cheer when you realize that this is Scorsese’s biggest opening to date, beating even “The Departed” by $14 million.
The filmmaker has made his most lucrative pictures (“The Departed,” “Gangs of New York,” and “The Aviator”) with frequent collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio attached, but it’s interesting to note that his biggest pre-Leo hit was “Cape Fear,” a genre film that is closest in spirit to his latest work. Scorsese may gravitate toward Oscar-baiting epics, but apparently most moviegoers just want to see him in creepy thriller mode. Also we hate to rain on the Oscar-winning director’s parade, but it’s worth pointing out that “Shutter Island” was the only wide release this week, so it’s not so surprising that it took first place. Paramount’s promotion was so ubiquitous that you would likely be aware of its existence even if you were imprisoned on an isolated island.
Arriving in second place with a broken heel and running mascara is “Valentine’s Day.” We predicted a giant drop for the romantic comedy, and we’ve rarely been so happy to be right. The Garry Marshall-helmed film fell a precipitous 69.5% to bring in just $17.2 million, which is especially bad since it didn’t lose a single screen after last week’s $56 million opening. Coming in a distant fifth place, “The Wolfman” sank almost an equal percentage and made only $9.8 million. That’d be a win in a second week for almost any other horror movie, bu the Benicio Del Toro film cost $150 million (not including promotion and advertising) and doesn’t have any hope of making Universal a profit.
Meanwhile, “Avatar” was sitting pretty in third place, with its $16.1 million take bringing it to $688 million. It should have no trouble hitting $700 million by next week, which is simply shocking. We’ve got other hopes for the Oscars, but we can’t help but wonder how much the total haul will be if James Cameron & Co. take home gold.
The two family films in the top ten continue to pull in decent numbers. “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” came in fourth with $15.3 million, only dropping a respectable 51%. The blandly appealing (we guess?) “Tooth Fairy” is still flying in seventh place with $4.5 million.
Roman Polanski’s “The Ghost Writer” was the top limited opener this week with $179,000 on just four screens. For those of you without a calculator handy, that’s an impressive $45,000 per screen. We didn’t love the auteur’s effort, but we’re curious to see how his current, umm, troubles bear on the film as it opens wider. The Alexis Bledel-starrer “The Good Guy” earned $36,000 on nine screens, while “Happy Tears” limped in with $14,000, making less than a grand on each of its 15 screens. Despite the presence of Parker Posey, Demi Moore, and Rip Torn, we imagine there was more than one entirely empty theater.
1. Shutter Island – $40.2 million ($40.2. mil.)
2. Valentine’s Day – $17.2 million ($87.4 mil.)
3. Avatar – $16.1 million ($688 mil.)
4. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief – $15.3 million ($58.8 mil.)
5. The Wolfman – $9.8 million ($50.3 mil.)
6. Dear John – $7.3 million ($66 mil.)
7. Tooth Fairy – $4.5 million ($49.9 mil.)
8. Crazy Heart – $3 million ($21.6 mil.)
9. From Paris with Love – $2.5 million ($21 .2 mil.)
10. Edge of Darkness – $2.2 million ($40.3 mil.)
