By Ryan Parsons | Images property of Paramount Pictures, Variety
Shutter Island
As expected, Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island took the top spot over the weekend with an impressive $40.2 million.
Box Office: Shutter Island
Paramount wasn't the only studio betting that Shutter Island would be the top earner of the weekend, as the film was the only new wide release. Coming in second was Warner Bros' Valentine's Day, which is also impressive considering that all the feedback I've heard for the rom-com has been negative.
The biggest fall over the weekend was Universal's The Wolfman, which dropped a whopping 69% to an estimated $9.8 million after a strong opening with $35.6 million. One film that continues to hold strong is Avatar, which wrapped up the top three with $16.1 million. Percy Jackson also saw a sizeable drop, down 51%, going into its sophomore weekend with $15.3 million. Thanks most in part to Shutter Island, the overall box office was up 6% over the same weekend last year.
Though Scorsese's thriller was R-rated, the film still saw moviegoers that were almost perfectly split.
Par vice chair Rob Moore praised Scorsese and credited the director as one of the leading factors contributing to a healthy opening.
"It feels like a movie that garners a lot of attention in conversation," Moore said. "I think the good thing about the way the film is positioned, for older audiences looking for movies in this genre, this movie now has a pretty clear playing field to run."
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