Shutter to Think: Leo Bigger Than Ever

DiCaprio's latest debuts with estimated $40.2 million, biggest opening weekend of star's career

Leonardo DiCaprio lost his crown this year as box office king of the world. But he rebounded nicely this weekend with the biggest opener of his career.

Shutter Island dominated the competition with an estimated $40.2 million Friday-Sunday, a bigger haul than DiCaprio's last two movies made during their respective domestic runs.

Meanwhile, Avatar, the movie that trumped DiCaprio's Titanic, celebrated its 10th weekend by moving up to third place, scoring another $16.1 million—and putting itself days away from an unprecedented $700 million domestic gross. More good stuff: 

• The $80 million Shutter Island is also now the biggest opener of director Martin Scorsese's considerable career. His previous best was The Departed (also starring DiCaprio); DiCaprio's was Catch Me If You Can. 

• DiCaprio hasn't had a movie that impressed at the domestic box office since The Departed. His last two, Revolutionary Road and Body of Lies, each failed to top $40 million here.

• Avatar's now at $687.8 million domestically. How long before it hits $700 million? Not long. Says Exhibitor Relations' Jeff Bock: "It looks like it's about seven days away, by this time next week."

• Bock says Avatar will to continue to be a force right up until Alice in Wonderland, which will usurp the blockbuster's 3-D and IMAX screens when the Tim Burton-Johnny Depp movie opens March 5.

• After two weekends, the $150 million Wolfman is at about $100 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo. The horror redo is pretty much done here, with ticket sales freefalling almost 70 percent from last weekend, down to $9.8 million.

• Another holdover, The Lightning Thief, held better than The Wolfman: fourth place, $15.3 million. The $95 million fantasy epic stands at $58.7 million domestically.

• What happened to last weekend's champ? The suddenly dated Valentine's Day suffered a drop worthy of The Wolfman (down 69 percent, to $17.2 million). But the $50 million movie still looked great with an $87.4 million two-week domestic take.

• Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer loomed large on four screens in New York and, interestingly, Los Angeles, where authorities want him extradited to stand sentencing on a 1977 rape case. The movie's per-screen average—$44,750—was the biggest of any weekend film reporting grosses.

Here's a complete rundown of the weekend's top-grossing films from Friday-Sunday, per estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. Shutter Island, $40.2 million
2. Valentine's Day, $17.2 million
3. Avatar, $16.1 million
4. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, $15.3 million
5. The Wolfman, $9.8 million
6. Dear John, $7.3 million
7. The Tooth Fairy, $4.5 million
8. Crazy Heart, $3 million
9. From Paris with Love, $2.5 million
10. Edge of Darkness, $2.2 million

(Originally published Feb. 21, 2010, at 9:59 a.m. PT)