Box Office: ALICE IN WONDERLAND $116m; BROOKLYN’S FINEST #2; AVATAR #5

The Blue Caterpillar (voiced by Alan Rickman) in Alice in Wonderland (top); Jesse Williams, Richard Gere in Brooklyn's Finest (bottom)

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which stars Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, and the voices of Stephen Fry and Michael Sheen, scored a fantastic $31,196 per screen average at 3,728 sites, taking in a total of $116.3 million this weekend according to figures found at Box Office Mojo. That's good news for Disney, which spent approximately $200-$250 million on the film — not including prints and advertising expenses.

Antoine Fuqua’s Brooklyn’s Finest earned an estimated $13.5 million, or about ten percent less than some early predictions. At a distant #2, the cop drama had a barely passable average — for an opening film — of $6,973 per screen at 1,936 sites (about half the number of screens showing Alice in Wonderland; the fewer the screens, the highest the per-screen average should be). It's highly unlikely that Brooklyn’s Finest, which stars Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, and Wesley Snipes, will be able to recover its low $25 million cost at the domestic box office. (Remember, studios usually get about 50-55 percent of their films' gross take.) [Note: Box Office Mojo has adjusted the film's cost. It's now listed as $17 million. If that's correct, Brooklyn's Finest has a better chance of at least breaking even at the domestic box office.]

Shutter Island, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo, was #3 with $13.3 million — a solid $4,185 per screen average on weekend #3 — following an mid-level drop of 41.3 percent from the previous weekend. To date, Shutter Island (cost: $80 million) has grossed $95.8 million.

Martin Scorsese’s thriller was followed by Kevin Smith’s comedy Cop Out, starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, with $9.1 million (-49.8%) and an unimpressive $2,903 per screen average on weekend #2. The $30-million production has reached a cume of $32.3 million.

Although Avatar was expected to no longer be among the top five grossers in North America, James Cameron's sci-fier stubbornly held its ground at #5, despite a significant 43.6% drop from the previous weekend — its worst to date, now that Alice in Wonderland has taken hold of most 3D/IMAX screens. To date, Avatar has grossed $720.1 million at the domestic box office. The film is up for nine Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Breck Eisner’s horror flick The Crazies, with Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell, was next with $7 million (-56.3%) for a total of $27.4 million. At #7, Chris Columbus‘ adventure flick Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, starring Logan Lerman, earned $5.1 million (-46.8%) this weekend and $78 million to date. The Lightning Thief will definitely not get even close to recovering its $95 million price tag at the domestic box office.

Garry Marshall’s all-star Valentine’s Day was #8 with $4.2 million (-52.9%). Thus far, the romantic comedy has grossed $106.4 million — or more than double its $52 million production costs. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Anne Hathaway, Taylor Lautner, Eric Dane, Carter Jenkins, Taylor Swift, and many others.

Rounding out the top twelve were Jeff Bridges‘ Crazy Heart with $3.3 million (+36%; total $29.5m), the Channing Tatum-Amanda Seyfried romantic melodrama Dear John with $2.8 million (-40.7%; total $73.6m), Dwayne Johnson’s Tooth Fairy with $2.8 million (-18.3%; total $56.2m), and Benicio del Toro’s The Wolfman with $1.6 million (-62.4%; total $60.4m).

Photos: Alice in Wonderland (Disney Enterprises); Brooklyn's Finest (Phillip V. Caruso / Brooklyn’s Finest Productions)