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We miss Judd Hirsch

Kim Hollis: Dear John, the movie featuring big stars Whosit and What's-Her-Face, toppled Avatar from its reign at the top of the box office after seven weeks. How in God's name did Dear John earn $30.5 million?

Josh Spiegel: The right audience at the right time. With this being Super Bowl weekend, the male-oriented movies are going to suffer. Avatar, despite getting Oscar nominations, has been out for a long time. Dear John, despite not having huge stars, has been marketed to death everywhere I look, so kudos to Sony for getting the word out as much as possible. We'll forget the movie in a day, but it gets its time in the sun for now.





Michael Lynderey: Bizarre. Incomprehensible. Absurd. Blartish. All words that can be used to accurately describe what occurred at the box office this weekend, just when we weren't looking. Really, though, I have no explanation for how and why these events transpired. I could go on about the recent trend of front-loaded female moviegoing ('cos Dear John is going to be frontloaded... right?), or talk about the Nicholas Sparks brand of hit romantic dramas, or say that the cast made this out to look like an attractive film just in time for Valentine's Day. But that would explain a $16 million opening, not one twice that size. The whole thing reminds me of the excesses of January 2009, but not in a good way. I just really have to wonder how big that next Sparks movie with Miley Cyrus is going to be. Are we getting two $100 million titles on April 2nd now, with Clash of the Titans and Sparks' The Last Song?

George Rose: Oh, man, this is a joyous day. I couldn't have picked a better title to dismantle Avatar than Dear John. Only because it is so absurd is it so perfect! Every man who ever loved Cameron in the 1990s went out to support Avatar, and they probably brought their girlfriends. But all those girls who walked out of Avatar were left hungry for the Cameron they knew in Titanic, not T2 or True Lies. In the 12 years since Titanic, one reliable source for false-romantic-hope has become Nicholas Sparks. Since men were so blindly satisfied (sorry, I mean "fully" satisfied) by Avatar, it comes as no surprise that a bunch of bland action movies starring old A-listers couldn't take the throne, especially in January. It's 2010, people, and Hollywood has officially shifted. It's all about young, shiny, 3D, IMAX, new trends, and old remakes. It's sad, but it's true. Seyfried and Tatum are hot young stars who were due for a breakout outside of their previous blockbusters, which were both based on pre-made properties. Regardless of what the reviews are, someone knew combining these two hot young stars and the new King-of-the-World of Romantic Drama would create a must-see movie for young women. The only ones that should really be shocked and disappointed by this news is the makers of the Valentine's Day releases. Though neither Wolfman or Valentine's Day will get to battle it out for the title of Film That Took Down Avatar, you know Valentine's Day was hoping to be the top choice for women in February. That is no longer a guarantee. Once again, the box office has proven to be an unpredictable bastard. And once again, it has done so with a sense of humor.

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