Box Office: 'Alice in Wonderland' wins big!

Weekend of March 5 – 7, 2010: "Alice" crushes them all!

Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” scored the biggest opening for a 3D flick ever this weekend at the North American box office, bagging a stunning $116.3 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Walt Disney’s new take on the classic tale delivered a superb average of $31,196 per theater at 3,728 locations, easily beating the $77 million opening gross of James Cameron’s “Avatar.”

At No. 2, Antoine Fuqua’s new cop drama “Brooklyn’s Finest” generated $13.5 million from ticket sales at only 1,936 locations. Starring Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke and Don Cheadle, the film follows three Brooklyn cops struggling to get by.

Still doing fine was Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island,” which brought in $13.3 million, enough for third place this weekend. The Leonardo DiCaprio-starring thriller lifted its total to $95.8 million.

Following in fourth place with $9.1 million was Kevin Smith’s buddy comedy “Cop Out,” which reached a cumulative gross of $32.3 million. The film stars Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan trying to hunt down a gang of criminals.

Meanwhile, Cameron’s “Avatar” picked up another $7.7 million at No. 5, bringing its domestic total to $720.1 million. At No. 6, Breck Eisner’s “The Crazies” earned $7 million for a total haul of $27.4 million.

Chris Columbus’ adventure “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: the Lightning Thief” slipped to No. 7, pulling in $5.1 million for a cume of $78 million. Following at No. 8 this weekend was “Valentine’s Day,” which reached its total to $106.4 million.

At No. 9, Fox’s “Crazy Heart” bagged $3.3 million, reaching a total haul of $29.5 million. Rounding out the top 10 with $2.8 million was “Dear John,” which brought its cumulative gross to $76.6 million after five weeks in release.

Overall, I think it’s safe to say “Alice in Wonderland” surprised everyone this weekend. Its reign won’t hold on for that long, but for now, it will go down in history as the film with the biggest 3D opening.

Looking ahead, next week’s releases include “Green Zone,” “She’s Out of My League,” “Remember Me” and “Our Family Wedding.” It will be a busy week, and chances are we may end up seeing one of these steal the No. 1 spot.  Or not?

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