Disney Studios sure chose the right date with its March premiere of Alice in Wonderland. The Tim Burton-Johnny Depp collaboration debuted Friday to close to $40 million, putting its 3-day cume in the range of $110-$120 million. That far surpasses the previous March record-holder, Warner Bros.’ 300 which opened to $71 million back in 2007. Overture Films’ release of the R-rated cop drama Brooklyn’s Finest bowed in similar fashion to the R-rated films of the past few weeks, earning an estimated $4 million on Friday for a early weekend estimate of $14 million.

R-rated thriller Shutter Island looks like it will drop an average 40% its third weekend in release, for a $4 million Friday and a $13 million three-day take. Last weekend’s debut Cop Out from Kevin Smith is likely to fall 50% for its sophomore session. The Bruce Willis-Tracy Morgan combo generated around $3 million on Friday, putting its weekend total in the $9 million range. And Avatar has finally fallen like a normal film after 12 astounding weekends in the release. With Alice taking the majority of 3-D screens, Avatar is likely to lose close to 40% this frame with an almost $2 million Friday and a weekend take of a bit over $8 million. Check back here tomorrow when I post the final results.