Paramount’s thriller Shutter Island soared to the top of the North American charts on an estimated $40.2m, setting opening weekend records for director and star.

The last time Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio paired up on screen was October 2006 when The Departedflew to the top on $26.9m.

The latest collaboration delivered an even more emphatic result and Paramount top brass will have their eyes on overtaking The Departed’s $132m final domestic haul.

Shutter Island stars DiCaprio as a US Marshal sent to investigate a missing woman case on a remote island institution. The film has two weeks to play before the next major attraction arrives in the form of Disney’s Alice In Wonderland.

Warner Bros’ Valentine’s Day took $17.2m in its second weekend and tumbled 70% into second place on $87.4m.

Fox’s Avatar will cross $700m next weekend and ranks third on $16.1m for $687.8m.

In its second weekend, Fox’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief fell once place to fourth on $15.3m for $58.8m.

Next weekend’s wide releases are the Warner Bros comedy Cop Out with Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan and Seann William Scott; and Overture’s thriller remake The Crazies starring Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell.

Estimated Top 10 North America Feb 19-21 2010
Film (Dist) / Est wkd gross / Est total to date

1 (-) Shutter Island (Paramount) PPI $40.2m –

2 (1) Valentine’s Day (Warner Bros) WBPI $17.2m $87.4m

3 (4) Avatar (Fox) Fox Int’l $16.1m $687.8m

4 (3) Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Fox) Fox Int’l $15.3m $58.8m

5 (2) The Wolfman (Universal) UPI $9.8m $50.3m

6 (5) Dear John (Screen Gems) Lionsgate $7.3m $65.9m

7 (6) Tooth Fairy (Fox) Fox Int’l $4.5m $49.9m

8 (9) Crazy Heart (Fox Searchlight) SPRI $3m $21.6m

9 (7) From Paris With Love (Lionsgate) EuropaCorp $2.5m $21.2m

10 (8) Edge Of Darkness (Warner Bros) GK Films $2.2m $40.3m

Topics