The buying power of teenage girls reared its head again as the romance Dear John [DEARJ] knocked off Avatar [HWAVA] after its seven weeks stay atop the box office. Lasse Hallstrom's [LHALL] feature adaptation of the novel by Nicholas Sparks ignited an estimated $32.4 million. The pairing of Channing Tatum [CTATU] and Amanda Seyfried [ASEYF] attracted an audience that was 84% female and 66% under the age of 21.
Avatar finished out of the top spot for the first time at $23.6 million, a 25% decline in its eighth weekend. The all-time domestic record now stands at $630 million and counting.
Moviegoers did not embrace From Paris with Love [FPWLV] as the R-rated actioner debuted in third place with just $8.1 million. The Lionsgate release starred John Travolta [JTRAV] as a bald-headed secret agent with unorthodox methods.
Edge of Darkness [EDRKN] tumbled 59% in its second weekend to $7 million. The revenge drama has earned $29 million thus far.
Banking on Oscar nominations for Jeff Bridges [JBRID] and Maggie Gyllenhaal [MGYLL], Crazy Heart [CRZHT] charted at the eighth spot with $3.65 million in its first weekend of wide expansion. With seven previous weeks of limited release, the Fox Searchlight drama has totaled $11.2 million.
| Rank | TITLE | F-S-S | TOTAL |
| 1 | DEAR JOHN | $32,400,000 | $32,400,000 |
| 2 | AVATAR | $23,600,000 | $630,093,323 |
| 3 | FROM PARIS WITH LOVE | $8,120,000 | $8,120,000 |
| 4 | EDGE OF DARKNESS | $7,005,000 | $29,097,000 |
| 5 | THE TOOTH FAIRY | $6,500,000 | $34,332,973 |
| 6 | WHEN IN ROME | $5,504,000 | $20,899,000 |
| 7 | BOOK OF ELI | $4,835,000 | $82,163,000 |
| 8 | CRAZY HEART | $3,650,000 | $11,187,730 |
| 9 | LEGION | $3,400,000 | $34,600,000 |
| 10 | SHERLOCK HOLMES | $2,630,000 | $201,579,000 |
| 11 | THE BLIND SIDE | $2,600,000 | $241,626,000 |
| 12 | UP IN THE AIR | $2,350,000 | $76,681,000 |
Source: Exhibitor Relations Co.
Tag(s): DEARJ, HWAVA, LHALL, CTATU, ASEYF, FPWLV, JTRAV, EDRKN, JBRID, MGYLL, CRZHT