Martin Scorsese's crime thriller, "Shutter Island," topped the box office over the weekend by miles, beating out last week's previous #1 "Valentine's Day", as well as "Avatar."

The period-thriller, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, opened with $40.2 million. It marks the fourth collaboration for Scorsese and DiCaprio, and the best opening yet for both the director and star.

Scorsese's previous personal best was $26.9 million with his 2006 Academy Awards champ "The Departed," which also starred DiCaprio. And DiCaprio's previous best opening debut came in 2002 with "Catch Me If You Can," which raked in $30.1 million.

Aside from "The Departed," DiCaprio and Scorsese also worked together on "Gangs of New York" and "The Aviator," both of them earning best-picture nominations at the Oscars.

"The two of them have great chemistry, and you see it on screen," Rob Moore, vice chairman at Paramount, told the Associated Press.

"Valentine's Day" fell to #2 this week, taking in just $17.1 million after taking in over $52 million during its opening weekend.

James Cameron's "Avatar" climbed one spot to #3 this weekend with $16.1 million; "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" came in at #4 with $15.3 million; and "The Wolfman" fell to #5 with $9.8 million.

Another new release this weekend was Roman Polanski's thriller "The Ghost Writer", which pulled in $179,000 at just four theaters in New York City and Los Angeles.

It stars Ewan McGregor in the title role, a man hired to punch up the dreary memoirs of a former British prime minister (Pierce Brosnan) who has been accused of ordering the abduction of terrorism suspects and handing them over for torture by the CIA.

That wraps things up this weekend. Next weekend, look out for release of the Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan's comedy "Cop Out," and the horror flick "The Crazies."

This weekend's top 10 is as follows:

1 - "Shutter Island," $40.2 million.
2 - "Valentine's Day," $17.2 million.
3 - "Avatar," $16.1 million.
4 - "Percy Jackson&the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," $15.3 million.
5 - "The Wolfman," $9.8 million.
6 - "Dear John," $7.3 million.
7 - "The Tooth Fairy," $4.5 million.
8 - "Crazy Heart," $3 million.
9 - "From Paris With Love," $2.5 million.
10 - "Edge of Darkness," $2.2 million.