Although even some of the most favorable reviews of Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island observed that it fell short of some his landmark films like Taxi Driver, Mean Streets and Raging Bull , all of those films were overshadowed at the box office over the weekend as Shutter Island opened with an estimated $40.2 million, the most any Scorsese film has ever earned during an opening weekend. The result was far higher than the $25-30 million that box-office gurus had predicted it would earn. It was also a personal best for star Leonardo DiCaprio, whose previous best opening was 2002's Catch Me If You Can, which earned $30 million. Last weekend's top film, Valentine's Day, dropped to second place with $17.6 million, while Avatar moved up to third with $16.1 million, bringing its domestic total to $688 million. (Overseas, Avatar remained an unrivaled force, remaining in first place for the tenth week in a row with $51 million to bring its foreign take to $1.78 billion.) But the top earner on a per-theater basis was Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer, which opened at two theaters in New York and two in Los Angeles with $179,000 -- or a whopping $44,750 per theater, more than three times the $13,440 average for Shutter Island.
The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo 1. Shutter Island, $40.2 million; 2. Valentine's Day, $17.2 million; 3. Avatar , $16.1 million; 4. Percy Jackson & the Olympians The Lightning Thief , $15.3 million; 5. The Wolfman , $9.8 million; 6. Dear John , $7.3 million; 7. Tooth Fairy, $4.5 million; 8. Crazy Heart , $3 million; 9. From Paris With Love , $2.5 million; 10. Edge of Darkness , $2.2 million.
22/02/2010
