At last! A new box office champion!

LOS ANGELES – The top movies at the weekend box office have flip-flopped again, with the superhero comedy "Kick-Ass" edging out the animated adventure "How to Train Your Dragon."

Final studio numbers Monday have Lionsgate's "Kick-Ass" at No. 1 with $19.8 million. DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon," distributed by Paramount, ran a close No. 2 with $19.6 million.

On Sunday, Paramount had estimated "How to Train Your Dragon" took in $20 million, good enough for the No. 1 spot, but the final number came in $400,000 lower.

The same thing happened the previous weekend, when 20th Century Fox's "Date Night" was reported as No. 1 based on Sunday estimates. Final numbers Monday gave the box-office victory to the Warner Bros. release "Clash of the Titans."

1. "Kick-Ass," Lionsgate, $19,828,687, 3,065 locations, $6,469 average, $19,828,687, one week.

2. "How to Train Your Dragon," Paramount-DreamWorks Animation, $19,633,320, 3,825 locations, $5,133 average, $158,251,066, four weeks.

3. "Date Night," Fox, $16,720,038, 3,380 locations, $4,947 average, $48,666,799, two weeks.

4. "Death at a Funeral," Sony Screen Gems, $16,217,540, 2,459 locations, $6,595 average, $16,217,540, one week.

5. "Clash of the Titans," Warner Bros., $15,385,491, 3,753 locations, $4,100 average, $132,600,220, three weeks.

6. "The Last Song," Disney, $5,962,916, 2,767 locations, $2,155 average, $50,187,855, three weeks.

7. "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?", Lionsgate, $4,098,898, 1,859 locations, $2,205 average, $54,801,812, three weeks.

8. "Alice in Wonderland," Disney, $3,656,442, 2,024 locations, $1,807 average, $324,131,301, seven weeks.

9. "Hot Tub Time Machine," MGM, $3,490,471, 2,308 locations, $1,512 average, $42,449,935, four weeks.

10. "The Bounty Hunter," Sony, $3,084,020, 2,475 locations, $1,246 average, $60,261,888, five weeks.

And the box office champion this week is...

Warner Bros.' 3D action fantasy "Clash of the Titans" topped the domestic rankings on Friday -- its first full day of release -- with an estimated $26.4 million.

Co-produced and co-financed by Legendary Pictures, "Titans" totes $29 million in cumulative boxoffice including some Thursday night "pre-shows" in mostly 2D venues. Now playing in a combination of 2D and 3D locations with a total theater count of 3,777, "Titans" appears ready to march north of $60 million through Sunday.

That would seem to validate Warners' decision to convert the pic from 2D to 3D just two months prior to its scheduled release. It also would render moot most negative reviews of the pic, though reviewers' criticism of the quality of the 3D conversion may bear watching in future weeks for possible impact on 3D screen grosses.

Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married Too?" from Lionsgate enjoyed a solid start to its Easter weekend with $12.3 million in second place on Friday.

DreamWorks' 3D animated feature "How to Train Your Dragon" took the bronze medal position with $11 million on the day and an eight-day cume of $74.1 million.

Disney's Miley Cyrus starrer "The Last Song," which bowed Wednesday, grossed $7.1 million in fourth place on Friday for a three-day cume of $16.5 million.

MGM comedy "Hot Tub Time Machine" -- hitting its sophomore session in release -- ranked fifth among the daily grossers with $2.9 million and a $21.7 million cume.

And the box office champion this week is...

LOS ANGELES – Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio's voyage to "Shutter Island" has landed them at No. 1 at the weekend box office.

Their creepy crime thriller set at a remote insane asylum opened with $40.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. A Paramount Pictures release, "Shutter Island" is the fourth collaboration for Scorsese and DiCaprio and the best opening yet for both the director and star.

Scorsese's previous personal best was $26.9 million with his 2006 Academy Awards champ "The Departed," which also starred DiCaprio. The biggest previous debut for DiCaprio was $30.1 million for 2002's "Catch Me If You Can."

Along with "The Departed," DiCaprio and Scorsese also worked together on "Gangs of New York" and "The Aviator," both of them earning best-picture nominations at the Oscars.

"The two of them have great chemistry, and you see it on screen," said Rob Moore, vice chairman at Paramount.

Roman Polanski's thriller "The Ghost Writer" got off to a big start in limited release, pulling in $179,000 at four theaters in New York City and Los Angeles for a whopping average of $44,750 a cinema. That compares to a $13,440 average in 2,991 theaters for "Shutter Island."

The film likely benefited from months of press coverage over Polanski's arrest in Switzerland last fall and his possible extradition to the United States, which he fled in 1978 after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

"If not for the notoriety in his public life, no, I don't think this would have done as well," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "It put a spotlight on Polanski, maybe not for all the right reasons. But they say there's no such thing as bad publicity, especially when it comes to marketing a movie."

Released by Summit Entertainment, "The Ghost Writer" stars Ewan McGregor in the title role, a man hired to punch up the dreary memoirs of a former British prime minister (Pierce Brosnan) who has been accused of ordering the abduction of terrorism suspects and handing them over for torture by the CIA.

The previous weekend's top movie, the all-star romance "Valentine's Day," slipped to No. 2 with $17.2 million, falling a steep 69 percent from its $56.3 million debut. The Warner Bros. release raised its total to $87.4 million after 10 days in theaters.

The science-fiction sensation "Avatar" is still going strong after two months in theaters, coming in third with $16.1 million and raising its record domestic total to $687.8 million. Worldwide, the 20th Century Fox film has taken in $2.47 billion.

Adapted from Dennis Lehane's novel, "Shutter Island" stars DiCaprio as a U.S. marshal caught up in conspiracies and delusions while investigating the disappearance of a patient at a hospital for the criminally insane.

"Shutter Island" had been scheduled for release last October and was considered a potential Oscar contender given the awards success of Scorsese and DiCaprio's earlier collaborations.

Just six weeks before the planned release last fall, Paramount abruptly bumped "Shutter Island" to February, the studio calling it an economic decision that would increase the film's profit potential.

"We knew that more time was only going to help us get the word out and get a broader audience," Moore said.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

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.

And the box office champion this week is...

LOS ANGELES – The star-studded romance "Valentine's Day" wooed audiences with a $52.4 million opening weekend, easily grabbing the No. 1 spot over the holiday that shares its name, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"To have a movie titled 'Valentine's Day' on Valentine's weekend was a no-brainer that absolutely worked," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.

Directed by Garry Marshall ("Pretty Woman"), "Valentine's Day" was a celebrity bonanza. The cast includes Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Julia Roberts, Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Jessica Biel, Shirley MacLaine, Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner.

"Valentine's Day" distributor Warner Bros. estimated its love story will be in the $60 million range after Presidents Day on Monday. That would break the Presidents Day weekend record of $52 million set by "Ghost Rider" over the four-day holiday weekend in 2007.

Opening in a tight race for No. 2 were 20th Century Fox's action fantasy "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" with $31.1 million over three days and Universal's werewolf tale "The Wolfman" with $30.6 million.

Adapted from the opening book in Rick Riordan's fantasy series, "Percy Jackson" follows the adventures of a teen who learns he's descended from the ancient Greek gods. The cast includes Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan, Catherine Keener and Rosario Dawson.

"The Wolfman" stars Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt in an update of the 1941 Lon Chaney Jr. horror classic about an aristocrat who returns to his ancestral home and is bitten by a werewolf.

Coming in fourth for the weekend was 20th Century Fox's sci-fi sensation "Avatar" with $22 million, adding to a fortune that already has made it Hollywood's biggest modern blockbuster. "Avatar" raised its domestic total to $659.6 million and its worldwide haul to $2.35 billion.

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, Sony Screen Gems' romantic drama "Dear John," fell to fifth place with $15.3 million, lifting its 10-day total to $53.2 million.

Like "Dear John," "Valentine's Day" drew mainly women, with the female crowd making up 68 percent of the audience, said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros.

Playing in 3,665 theaters, "Valentine's Day" had a strong average of $14,300 a cinema. That compared with a $9,267 average in 3,356 theaters for "Percy Jackson" and $9,506 in 3,222 cinemas for "The Wolfman."

Newcomers and holdovers offered something for everyone, with "Valentine's Day" and "Dear John" catering to the date crowd, "Percy Jackson" filling the family niche and the R-rated "The Wolfman" pulling in horror fans.

The breadth of movies in the market lifted Hollywood to a record Presidents Day weekend, with Hollywood.com estimating the overall three-day haul at $193 million. That's up 3 percent from the previous record set over Presidents Day weekend last year, when "Friday the 13th" led with a $40.6 million debut.

In limited release, India's "My Name Is Khan" debuted strongly with $1.9 million in 120 theaters, averaging $15,500 a cinema. Released by Fox Searchlight, "My Name Is Khan" features Shahrukh Khan, a superstar in India's Bollywood movie industry based in Mumbai.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Tuesday.

1. "Valentine's Day," $52.4 million.

2. "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," $31.1 million.

3. "The Wolfman," $30.6 million.

4. "Avatar," $22 million.

5. "Dear John," $15.3 million.

6. "The Tooth Fairy," $5.6 million.

7. "From Paris With Love," $4.7 million.

8. "Edge of Darkness," $4.6 million.

9. "Crazy Heart," $4 million.

10. "When in Rome," $3.4 million.

And the box office champion this week is...

LOS ANGELES – A sci-fi love story has given way to an earthbound romance at the box office, livening up typically slow times at theaters over Super Bowl weekend.

Released by Sony's Screen Gems banner, "Dear John" debuted as the No. 1 movie with $32.4 million, knocking off "Avatar" after seven weekends in first place, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"It is very cool to know that it was our movie that audiences just totally embraced and made No. 1 for the weekend," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony. As for runaway blockbuster "Avatar," he quipped, "I think they're going to be fine in the long run."

"Avatar" slipped to No. 2 with $23.6 million, raising its domestic total to $630.1 million. Directed by James Cameron, 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" surpassed his own "Titanic," which had held the domestic revenue record at $600.8 million.

With a record $2.2 billion worldwide, "Avatar" also has soared past the $1.8 billion "Titanic" took in globally.

Factoring in today's higher admission prices, however, "Avatar" has sold fewer tickets than "Titanic."

"Avatar" had been No. 1 domestically longer than any movie since 1997's "Titanic," which held on at first place for 15 weekends. The studio was unconcerned that "Avatar" finally fell out of the top spot.

"It had to happen sometime," said 20th Century Fox distribution executive Bert Livingston. "There's nothing that could disappoint me with this movie."

By the eighth weekend, most Hollywood movies have long since dropped out of the top 10 rankings.

"Avatar" still is going strong after eight weeks, with the added luster of a monthlong buildup to the Academy Awards on March 7. Following the example of Oscar champ "Titanic," "Avatar" tied for the lead at the Academy Awards with nine nominations and is a front-runner to win best picture.

Fox executives would not speculate what number "Avatar" eventually might hit at the box office.

"Who knows what that is? It just keeps on going," Livingston said.

The weekend's other new wide release, Lionsgate's spy story "From Paris With Love," opened at No. 3 with $8.1 million. The movie stars John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as CIA men trying to crack a terrorist plot.

Fox Searchlight's acclaimed country-music tale "Crazy Heart" expanded from narrow release and broke into the top 10, coming in at No. 8 with $3.7 million. Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal have acting Oscar nominations for the film, which follows a boozy country star trying to turn his life around.

While "Avatar" features a human-alien romance light-years away, "Dear John" centers on a long-distance love story between a soldier (Channing Tatum) and his sweetheart (Amanda Seyfried) back home.

"Dear John" had a record opening for Super Bowl weekend, topping the $31.1 million debut for "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" in 2008.

The movie was based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, whose Hollywood adaptations such as "The Notebook" and "A Walk to Remember" have been steady draws for women. Female crowds made up 84 percent of the audience for "Dear John," according to Sony.

Sparks "creates these stories that really pull at your heartstrings, and certainly that may be first and foremost for women rather than men, though I think a few of us have hearts, too," Bruer said. "But his stories really resonate and are very compelling for women."

That bodes well for the movie over Valentine's Day weekend, said Geoffrey Ammer, head of marketing for Relativity Media, which produced "Dear John." Valentine's weekend draws big date crowds, with women often picking which film to see.

Business on Sunday was predictably slow as football fans watched the Super Bowl instead of going to the movies. But "Dear John" already exceeded industry expectations with $26.2 million on Friday and Saturday.

"Super Bowl weekend isn't about men. It's about women," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "This counter-programming strategy just absolutely works, the female audience propelling a movie to unprecedented heights."

Hollywood could use more fresh hits like "Dear John" if it hopes to match 2009's record box office pace. The first couple of weeks this year, "Avatar" had revenue and attendance running well ahead of last year.

But revenues have now declined for four straight weekends. So far in 2010, domestic revenues are at $1.2 billion, 1.5 percent ahead of last year's, according to Hollywood.com.

Factoring in higher ticket prices this year, though, movie attendance is down 0.5 percent.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Dear John," $32.4 million.

2. "Avatar," $23.6 million.

3. "From Paris With Love," $8.1 million.

4. "Edge of Darkness," $7 million.

5. "The Tooth Fairy," $6.5 million.

6. "When in Rome," $5.5 million.

7. "The Book of Eli," $4.8 million.

8. "Crazy Heart," $3.7 million.

9. "Legion," $3.4 million.

10. "Sherlock Holmes," $2.6 million.

Surprise!!! There is a new Box Office Champion this week!

Usually when we publish the Box Office Champion entry we usually base it on estimates made by the studios on Sunday morning. When the money is counted on Monday, usually the tally falls within the estimate. Not this time. This time the estimates were wrong...

The Box Office Champion in North America this week is...

LOS ANGELES – It turns out Hollywood's weekend hangover was bigger than expected.

The Warner Bros. comedy "The Hangover" drew larger audiences than earlier projected to raise its weekend ticket sales to $45 million, about $1.8 million more than the studio estimated Sunday.

That made it the No. 1 draw for the weekend instead of Disney and Pixar Animation's "Up," which came in second with $44.3 million. Sunday studio estimates had "Up" edging "The Hangover" by about $1 million.

It's rare that the first- and second-place movies on Sunday flip-flop when final numbers come out Monday. But strong attendance Sunday allowed "The Hangover" to pull ahead.

With heavy matinee traffic, family films such as "Up" usually hold on better through Sunday than adult movies like "The Hangover."

Warner Bros. had expected Sunday's NBA championship game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic to cut into business for the R-rated "The Hangover," the tale of four friends at an out-of-control bachelor party weekend in Las Vegas.

Yet more people turned up for the movie than anticipated, said Dan Fellman, Warner head of distribution.

"The Lakers weren't the only winners," Fellman said. "We had an unbelievable day."

Disney spokeswoman Heidi Trotta said the studio was happy to come in at No. 2 with "Up," whose final weekend total came in about $100,000 higher than the studio estimated Sunday.

"Up" has topped $137 million in just 10 days and is on track to become the latest $200 million blockbuster from Disney and Pixar, whose hits include "WALL-E," "The Incredibles," "Finding Nemo" and the "Toy Story" movies.