Box Office, Friday Box Office | featured news

Disney's 3D fantasy "Alice in Wonderland" fetched $9.9 million on the day for $241.2 million in cumulative b.o. at the start of its third session.

Disney 3D pic earns $17 million Friday -- For the second week in a row, Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" crushed the competition, despite a number of new films that debuted on Friday.

Disney's Alice In Wonderland is a monster hit. It clearly becomes the best March release ever with $45 million on Friday. If that holds up, the Tim Burton-directed, Johnny Depp starring fantasy flick could have a $115M-$120M opening weekend for the biggest 3D pic debut ever.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese continue to lure movie-goers to "Shutter Island," while James Cameron's "Avatar" has surpassed $700 million domestically....

Holdover Shutter Island, the Marty Scorsese/Leo DiCaprio psychological thriller from Paramount, will easily stay No. 1 again with just a 51% drop from a week ago. It made $6.7M Friday for what should be a $21M weekend and estimated cume of $75+M. Warner Bros' Bruce Willis/Tracy Morgan buddy comedy Cop Out (formerly entitled A Couple Of Dicks) opened Friday with $6.2M for an expected $18.5M weekend which shows audiences are starved for laughs.

“Shutter Island,” yanked from the fall release schedule by a cost-cutting Paramount Pictures, was a strong No. 1 at the North American box office.

Paramount's delay of Shutter Island's release, once widely questioned, now looks shrewdly strategic. Sources tell me this 4th film collaboration between Marty Scorsese and Leo DiCaprio is shaping up tonight as the highest-grossing debut ever, bigger than 2002's Gangs Of New York, 2004's The Aviator, and 2006's The Departed (which posted their previous biggest opening ever of $26.8M).

Director Garry Marshall and his pack of A-list stars are on track to win the President’s Day weekend with the ensemble romantic comedy Valentine’s Day. Friday’s opening for the film starring Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper and many, many others is estimated at approximately $15 million, a number that is likely to reach over $50 million for the 4-day holiday frame.

It was love that slayed the mighty "Avatar" -- or, at least, knocked it out of the top position at the boxoffice that it has commanded for the previous seven weeks. "Dear John" proved to be more popular than expected, taking in an estimated $13.8 million on Friday in 2,969 theaters.

"Avatar" grossed yet another strong $30 million over the weekend for a new domestic total of $594.4 million. That stunningly puts James Cameron's blockbuster only days away from passing "Titanic's" U.S. mark of $600 million. "Edge of Darkness" found a solid $17.1 million and "When in Rome" $`12.1 million.