In first place, the romantic drama The Vow hauled in an estimated $41.7 million, which qualifies it as the biggest opening of 2012 so far.  The latest Screen Gems release was expected to do business more in line with Dear John, the 2010 romance starring Channing Tatum that the studio released right around Valentine's Day to $30.4 million, which was then Screen Gem's biggest opening.  That distinction now belongs to The Vow.

The film's strong performance is attributable to an agreeably melodramatic premise – a devoted husband strives to rekindle the love of his amnesiac wife after a devastating car accident – and, probably more importantly, its two leads.  Channing Tatum has been building a devoted fanbase for some time now, and is maturing nicely as an actor and movie star, while McAdams has a cross-demographic appeal that is damn near universal and perfectly suited to romances.  As you would expect, given the subject matter, the film's audience was overwhelmingly female, with 72% of attendees rocking double X-chromosomes.

With an emotional romance in first place, an unabashedly masculine action movie occupied second place, as Safe House earned an estimated $39.3 million since Friday.  That figure is roughly double what was projected for the film going into the weekend, and were it not for The Vow's big performance, would've put the film in first place.  It's the second biggest opening for a Denzel Washington film ever, behind American Gangster's 43.6 million debut in 2007. 

It's a big win for Washington; though the film also stars Ryan Reynolds and a cadre of quality actors including Sam Shepard, Vera Farmiga, and Brendan Gleeson, it was on Washington that the film was sold.  His face adorned every simple, stripped-down poster, and his performance as a fearsome rogue CIA agent was the central part of each commercial and trailer.

In third place we find Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, the latest established franchise to feature Dwayne Johnson stepping into a leading role despite no previous affiliation with the series.  In July of 2008, Journey to the Center of the Earth opened to 21 million in July, thanks mostly to the novelty of its 3D format.  Now, the sequel, which retains only Josh Hutcherson from the previous film, debuted to an impressive $27.5 million, a showing that I'm going to attribute to three things: Michael Caine, Johnson riding a giant digital bumblebee, and Vanessa Hudgens in hot pants.

In 1999, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace opened amidst perhaps the biggest hype-fest that the world has ever known, and now, thirteen years later, a 3D re-release of the first Star Wars prequel re-opened to $23.0 million in estimated earnings.  George Lucas plans to re-release each installment in the six-film saga, with one each year through 2017, and the performance of The Phantom Menace bodes very well for the other films in the series.  With its trade-dispute storyline and Jar-Jar Binks-ery, the first prequel has the least sturdy reputation of any film in the series, and has become something of a punchline, so if it can kick up this commercial dust, the more popular films should do quite well for themselves.

Chronicle rounded out the top five, bringing in an estimated $12.3 million and declining 44% from its opening, no small feat considering the competition.  In ninth place, Alexander Payne's The Descendants continued its months of steady business, bringing the film's total to over $70 million.  Within the next week, it should surpass Sideways as the biggest domestic earner of Payne's career, but it has already done so globally.  George Clooney being George Clooney has enabled the film to bring in $44.8 million internationally, adding up to a worldwide total of $115. 5 million.

Here are the top ten movies of America for the weekend of February 10-12:

1. The Vow                                                                              $41.7 million        New Release

2. Safe House                                                                          $39.3 million        New Release

3. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island                                      $27.5 million        New Release

4. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3D              $23.0 million        New Release

5. Chronicle                                                                             $12.3 million        $40.1 million

6. The Woman in Black                                                           $10.3 million        $35.4 million

7. The Grey                                                                             $5.0 million         $42.8 million

8. Big Miracle                                                                           $3.9 million         $13.2 million

9. The Descendants                                                                 $3.5 million         $70.7 million

10. Underworld Awakening                                                     $2.5 million         $58.9 million

The coming week sees the wide release of both This Means War and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.