It is the movie that pulled Avatar from its throne. “Dear John” debuted with $32.4 million in its opening weekend, knocking off the sci-fi epic movie after seven weekends as the No. 1 box-office film to $22.9 million.

On its seven weeks reign, James Cameron Avatar raised its revenue records to $639.3 million domestically and $2.2 billion worldwide and became the highest-grossing film of all time in North America and internationally. It has surpassed Titanic, which had held the records for the previous 12 years. It also became the first film to gross more than $2 billion. After all the record-breaking, it’s about the time Avatar step down and it’ll be a while before anyone breaks that record.

Dear John is based on a novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. It follows the story of Special Forces Army Sergeant John Tyree (Channing Tatum). On his two-week leave from Germany, he meets Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried) who is a college student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The two started to fall in love but Savannah has to go back to college and John to the army. For a year, they live in a long distance relationship. John believes that year will be his final year of enlistment, but, following the September 11 attacks, their love is put to test. He is undecided whether to go home or fulfill his duty to serve the army.

Here are the weekend’s top-grossing pictures in North American theater.

1. Dear John, $32.4 million, first weekend
2. Avatar, $23.6 million; $630.1 million, eighth week
3. From Paris with Love, $8.1 million, first weekend
4. Edge of Darkness, $7 million; $29.1 million, second week
5. Tooth Fairy, $6.5 million; $34.3 million, third week
6. When in Rome, $5.5 million; $20.9 million, second week
7. The Book of Eli, $4.8 million; $82.2 million, fourth week
8. Crazy Heart, $3.7 million; $11.2 million, eighth week
9. Legion, $3.4 million; $34.7 million, third week
10. Sherlock Holmes, $2.63 million; $201.6 million, seventh week
11. The Blind Side, $2.6 million; $241.6 million, 12th week

Related posts:

1. 3-D ‘Avatar’ ruled record box-office weekend
2. Avatar exceeds Titanic record as the No. 1 movie of all time
3. James Cameron plans two more “Avatar” sequels