Knocking Avatar after seven weeks from its perch atop the rankings, Dear John–a romantic drama based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks–was the top film in the US and Canada over the weekend.

According to Hollywood.com Box-Office, Dear John opened with sales of $32.4 million for Sony Corp. In second place, Avatar had $23.6 million in receipts.

Since mid-November, when 2012 debuted, Dear John is Sony’s first No. 1 movie. Avatar, James Cameron’s 3-D sci-fi adventure, has taken in record $630 million domestically since its Dec. 18 release by News Corp.’s Twentieth Century Fox. It set the record when it beat the $600.8 million in sales made by “Titanic,” another Cameron production.

Brandon Gray, president of Box Office Mojo, a research company in Sherman Oaks, California, said, “Dear John certainly performed above expectations. It’s the story line–it’s a moving, romantic drama–it’s the casting, it’s the Nicholas Sparks brand, it’s the impending Valentine’s Day.”

(article source: BusinessWeek, image source: The Washington Post)