Stronger-than-expected performances by "The Vow," "Safe House," "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" and "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" knocked down a couple of domestic box-office records this weekend.
For the first time since Christmas weekend 2008 -- and for the first non-holiday weekend ever -- four movies debuted to more than $20 million. "The Vow" more than doubled that sum, taking an estimated $41.7 million. "Safe House" nearly doubled it, with $39.3 million.
"Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" beat all expectations with $27.6 million and Fox's 3D re-release of "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" grossed a solid $23 million.
While it is too early in the year to say that the slump that plagued the box office in 2011 is over, Hollywood has reason to celebrate today.
"The weekend itself is a record-breaker," Nikki Rocco, Universal's distribution chief, told TheWrap Sunday morning.
In addition to this being the first non-holiday weekend to have four movies debut to more than $20 million, she said this is the biggest non-holiday February weekend ever.
And she noted that the overall box office is up around 30 percent compared to this weekend in 2011.
Also read: Box Office Slide: 2011 Domestic Revenue to Fall Short of 2010
"People are in the moviegoing mode," said Rocco, whose studio released "Safe House." "The numbers are just fantastic."
Her counterpart at Fox, Chris Aronson, agreed.
"It's pretty remarkable," he said. "Last year you'd have to go to July 15 to find the first non-holiday weekend that grossed this much."
He attributed the robust box office to a diverse mix of movies.
"You have choices," he said. "You have something for everybody in the marketplace, and when you have compelling choices, that translates into a healthy marketplace."
Rory Bruer, the distribution chief at Sony, echoed their thoughts.
"To have the tremendous success that we did, and to see how well the other films in the market opened ... bodes so well for us as an industry as a whole," Bruer told TheWrap Sunday morning. "I think it's a great omen for many, many good weeks to come."
"The Vow," which Sony's Screen Gems co-financed with Spyglass Entertainment, smashed pre-release expectations.
The studio expected that the PG-13 romantic drama would take somewhere in the mid-to-high $20 million range, though outside box-office watchers figured it would take a little more than $30 million.
The $41.7 million came largely from women, who made up 72 percent of the audience. "The Vow," which stars Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams, played to a slightly younger audience: 55 percent of the people who turned out for the film's opening weekend were younger than 25.
The movie, which cost about $30 million to make, broke the record for a Screen Gems opening weekend.
