BOX OFFICE

Dear John Topples Avatar

Young females flock to the tearjerker.

Avatar’s time in the spotlight may finally be over. Dear John, the romantic tearjerker based on Nicholas Sparks’ novel, shot past Cameron’s sci-fi epic at the box office with a $32.4 million haul this weekend, with Avatar taking in $23.6 million. The surprise success of Dear John, starring Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum as a couple whose relationship is tested by war, shows the power of young female moviegoers—the same group that pushed Twilight and Hannah Montana: The Movie to unprecedented successes last year. According to the Los Angeles Times, 84 percent of the audience was female, and 64 percent was under the age of 21. Also opening this weekend was John Travolta’s From Paris With Love, which had a disappointing debut of $8.1 million.