The top ten, plus next week's trailers

1. Alice in Wonderland 3D – Tim Burton

Finally displacing Avatar from its top spot, Burton is back with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter predictably in tow. The 3D antics are less effective in this film than the beautifully crafted and now Oscar winning visuals of Avatar, and the script is a bit lacking, but fans of the director will relish the plunge into his loopy world.

2. Avatar – James Cameron

Record breaking 3D extravaganza where the humans are resource hungry invaders, and the spiritual Na’vi must fight to save their homeland. Winner of almost every ‘Oh look, isn’t it pretty’ award at the Oscars but losing the coveted ‘Best Picture’ accolade to The Hurt Locker, directed by Cameron’s ex wife.

3. The Crazies – Breck Eisner

Not quite a zombie film, but running along the same train tracks. The inhabitants of a small town in America are hit with an epidemic of murderous madness.

4. The Lovely Bones – Peter Jackson

A young girl is murdered in this adaptation of Alice Sebold’s successful novel, but continues to watch over her family and her killer from beyond the grave.

5. The Princess and the Frog – Ron Clements, John Musker

Holding firm at number four, this Walt Disney story harks back to the time before CGI when cartoons were traditionally animated. Set in jazzy New Orleans it features Disney’s first ever African-American heroine.

6. From Paris with Love – Pierre Morel

John Travolta and Johnathan Rhys Meyer team up in this spy-genre film in an attempt to prevent a terrorist attack.

7. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief – Chris Columbus

Slipping down the charts two places this week from fifth to seventh, it’s a tale as old as the hills: handsome American teenager discovers that he’s actually the son of Poseidon, and hence must save the world.

8. Leap Year – Anand Tucker

An American woman decides to follow her boyfriend to Ireland to propose to him herself, but predictably meets a tall dark Irish stranger who quickly becomes a spanner in the works.

9. Valentine’s Day – Garry Marshall

Losing momentum this week, Valentine’s Day has slipped from sixth to ninth in the charts. Uncomfortably similar to Love Actually, this story is a sprawling tale of the loves and losses of a group of good-looking people in L.A., held together by a series of tenuous connections.

10. A Single Man – Tom Ford

Overlooked for the Best Actor award at the Oscars, Colin Firth’s performance is nonetheless formidable. Firth stars alongside Julianne Moore star in a beautifully shot and moving day-in-the-life of a suicidal college professor.

Next Week’s Releases

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – Niels Arden Oplev – Out on Friday 12th March

Based on the successful novel by Steig Larsson. A hacker and a journalist team up to solve the mystery of a girl’s disappearance forty years previously.

Green Zone – Paul Greengrass – Out on Friday 12th March

Matt Damon stars as Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller, who is tasked with hunting down hidden ‘weapons of mass destruction’ in the Iraqi desert.

Hachiko: A Dog’s Tale – Lasse Hallstrom – Out on Friday 12th March

The true story of the relationship between a professor and a stray dog, starring Richard Gere.

The Bounty Hunter – Andy Tennant – Out on Wednesday 17 March

Comedy featuring Gerard Butler as the aforementioned bounty hunter, who discovers that his next target is his ex-wife, played by Jennifer Aniston.

I Love You Philip Morris – Glenn Ficara and John Requa – Out on Wednesday 17 March

Following a car accident a tame, married police officer realises that he’s gay. A stay in prison acquaints him with Philip Morris and the pair embark on a series of cons.