'Avatar' loses box office crown to 'Dear John'

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It had to happen sometime, but nobody expected the biggest film of all time to lose its North American box office crown this weekend to "Dear John," a low-budget "chick flick" with a pair of little-known stars.

The romantic drama opened at No. 1 with three-day sales of USD 32.4 million across the United States and Canada, crushing both industry forecasts and reigning champ "Avatar," according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

James Cameron's 3D sci-fi spectacular slipped to No. 2 with USD 23.6 million in its eighth weekend. But "Avatar" remained the top pick overseas, earning USD 76 million. Its worldwide tally rose to USD 2.21 billion, divided between USD 630.1 million from North America and USD 1.58 billion from foreign markets.

"Avatar" last Tuesday surpassed the USD 601 million haul of Cameron's 1997 release "Titanic" to become the biggest movie of all time in North America. It had already taken the international and worldwide titles from "Titanic" thanks to ticket-price inflation and the higher cost of 3D screenings.

Pundits had forecast the 20th Century Fox release would lose its North American crown next weekend to "Valentine's Day," which will take advantage of both the eponymous holiday and the US Presidents Day weekend.

But few predicted that "Dear John" would cause a stampede to movie theaters by young women. Moreover, the hardy demographic appeared to ignore the blizzard that shut down a large swathe of the mid-Atlantic region.

"When they come out, young women come out in droves," said Geoffrey Ammer, president of worldwide marketing at the film's closely held financier Relativity Media.

He said the first wave of moviegoers texted and Tweeted their friends during the screenings to deliver their favourable verdicts, triggering further waves.