LOS ANGELES, USA (AP) — A science-fiction love story has given way to an earthbound romance at the box office, livening up typically slow times at theaters over Super Bowl weekend.

Released by Sony’s Screen Gems banner, Dear John debuted as the No 1 movie with $32.4 million, knocking off Avatar after seven weekends in first place, according to studio estimates yesterday.

“It is very cool to know that it was our movie that audiences just totally embraced and made No 1 for the weekend,” said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony. As for runaway blockbuster Avatar, he quipped, “I think they’re going to be fine in the long run.”

Avatar slipped to No 2 with $23.6 million, raising its domestic total to $630.1 million. Directed by James Cameron, 20th Century Fox’s Avatar surpassed his own Titanic, which had held the domestic revenue record at $600.8 million.

With a record $2.2 billion worldwide, Avatar also has soared past the $1.8 billion Titanic took in globally.

Factoring in today’s higher admission prices, however, Avatar has sold fewer tickets than Titanic.

Avatar had been No. 1 domestically longer than any movie since 1997’s Titanic, which held on at first place for 15 weekends. The studio was unconcerned that Avatar finally fell out of the top spot.

Dear John had a record opening for Super Bowl weekend, topping the $31.1 million debut for Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert in 2008.

The movie was based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, whose Hollywood adaptations such as The Notebook and A Walk to Remember have been steady draws for women. Female crowds made up 84 per cent of the audience for Dear John, according to Sony.

Sparks “creates these stories that really pull at your heartstrings, and certainly that may be first and foremost for women rather than men, though I think a few of us have hearts, too,” Bruer said. “But his stories really resonate and are very compelling for women.”

That bodes well for the movie over Valentine’s Day weekend, said Geoffrey Ammer, head of marketing for Relativity Media, which produced Dear John. Valentine’s weekend draws big date crowds, with women often picking which film to see.

Business on Sunday was predictably slow as football fans watched the Super Bowl pro football championship instead of going to the movies. But Dear John exceeded industry expectations with $26.2 million on Friday and Saturday.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released today.

1. Dear John, $32.4 million.

2. Avatar, $23.6 million.

3. From Paris With Love, $8.1 million.

4. Edge of Darkness, $7 million.

5. The Tooth Fairy, $6.5 million.

6. When in Rome, $5.5 million.

7. The Book of Eli, $4.8 million.

8. Crazy Heart, $3.7 million.

9. Legion, $3.4 million.

10. Sherlock Holmes, $2.6 million.