Box Office: 'Shutter Island' takes the weekend again!

Weekend of February 26 – 28, 2010: 'Shutter Island' scares off competition

Martin Scorsese’s thriller “Shutter Island” beat its competition to stay on top at the North American box office this weekend with a decent $22.2 million in ticket sales at 3,003 locations, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Domestically, the film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo has reached a total haul of $75 million after a little more than one week in release. “Island” ended up scoring an average of $7,393 per theater.

Following in second place with $18.5 million was Kevin Smith’s new comedy “Cop Out,” a film starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as two cops hunting down a gang of murderers while trying to find a stolen baseball card.

New entry “The Crazies” came in third this weekend, bagging a solid $16.5 million from ticket sales at 2,476 locations. The horror remake directed by Breck Eisner follows a group of survivors as they struggle with the outbreak of a dangerous virus.

Meanwhile, James Cameron’s “Avatar” is not giving up its spot in the top five. The hit sci-fi epic landed at No. 4 with a weekend gross of $14 million, reaching a cumulative gross of $706.9 million after 11 weeks in release.

Chris Columbus’ “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” followed in fifth place, generating $9.8 million for a total domestic gross of $71.2 million. Taking a big drop was “Valentine’s Day,” which collected $9.5 million at No. 6 for a total of $100.3 million.

“Dear John” crossed the $70 million mark this weekend thanks to earnings of $5 million, enough for seventh place. At No. 8, Universal’s remake “The Wolfman” picked up $4.1 million for a total of $57.2 million.

Fox’s disastrous comedy “Tooth Fairy” pulled $3.4 million at No. 9, reaching a total gross of $53.8 million. Rounding out the top 10 with $2.5 million was “Crazy Heart,” which brought its cumulative haul to $25 million.

I can’t say I’m really surprised by these numbers, although I admit I am glad to see “The Crazies” performed rather well, primarily because it’s a fun horror flick produced on a fairly low budget of $20 million.

Next week’s releases will certainly push this weekend’s releases further down the chart. Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” will take the crown for sure, while “Brooklyn’s Finest,” despite a release at only 1,800 locations, could potentially work its way up into the top five as well.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)