The Mid-Winter Derby

The lead horse appears to be Shutter Island, fast out of the gate with $14.1 million, headed for a $35 million dollar opening weekend. ...

The Nikkster's tally, (earlier and slightly off) goes as follows:

1. Shutter Island (Paramount) NEW [2,991 Theaters] Friday $13.5M, Estimated $35M Weekend

2. Valentine's Day (Warner Bros) Week 2 [3,665 Theaters] Friday $5.6M (-61%), Estimated Weekend $17M, Estimated Cume $89M

3. Percy Jackson & The Olympians (Fox) Week 2 [3,396 Theaters] Friday $4.0M (-58%), Estimated Weekend $16M, Estimated Cume $62M

4. Avatar (Fox) Week 10 [2,582 Theaters] Friday $4.0M, Estimated Weekend $16M, Estimated Cume $687M

5. The Wolfman (Universal) Week 2 [3,223 Theaters] Friday $3.0M (-68%), Estimated Weekend $9.0M, Estimated Cume $49.5M

6. Dear John (Relativity/Sony) Week 3 [3,062 Theaters] Friday $2.3M, Estimated Weekend $7.5M, Estimated Cume $66.2M

7. Tooth Fairy (Fox) Week 5 [2,523 Theaters] Estimated Weekend $4.5M, Estimated Cume $50M

8. Crazy Heart (Fox Searchlight) Week 10 [1,089 Theaters] Estimated Weekend $3.0M, Estimated Cume $21.5M

9. From Paris With Love (Lionsgate ) Week [2,311 Theaters] Estimated Weekend $2.5M, Estimated Cume $21.2M

10. Edge of Darkness (Alcon/Warner Bros) Week 4 [2,118 Theaters] Estimated weekend $2.3M, Estimated Cume $40.5M

Avatar, in its tenth week, closes in on a $700 million domestic accumulation, which is narrowly short of amazing.

Add On: At the finish, DiCaprio and Scorcese triumph atop Shutter Island, raking in $40.2 million for the weekend.

In second and third, Valentine's Day earns $17,160,000 while the hardy, long-limbed blue people pull down $16.1 million to give Avatar a domestic total of $687,821,000.