In a crowded box office weekend, there were films for all types of the audiences—the family film, the action thriller, the cult favorite and finally a tear jerker.

And audiences wanted to see the tear jerker for the pre-Valentine weekend.

Screen Gems score a win with the romantic film “The Vow,” which earned $41.7 million over the weekend. The film starred Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum as an engaged couple who tried to relive their love after a car accident leaving one with amnesia over their relationship.

The film gathered a Nicholas Sparks-type crowd with the sixth highest debut ever for the month of February and the third highest for a romantic film behind 2010’s “Valentine’s Day” and 2005’ “Hitch.” According to Box Office Mojo, women comprised of 72 percent of the audience and 55 percent were under the age of 25.

The film was made with a $30 million budget, which reaffirmed instant profits for good marketed romantic films.

In second place, Universal Pictures’ “Safe House” earned a very respectable $39.3 million that starred Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds.

The film is about a government agent trying to protect his prisoner after the original safe house was compromised.

The box office surprise was with Warner Brothers Pictures’ “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” a sequel to 2008’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth.”

The film earned a better than expected $27.55 million for third place, which was better than its predecessor that earned $21.02 million in 2008.

For this sequel, which was based loosely on Jules Verne’s novel, is about a small group of explorers traveling to an island to find a missing grandfather.

The family film starred Dwayne Johnson, Josh Hutcherson, Michael Caine, Vanessa Hudgens and Luis Guzman.

And the re-release of “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” in 3D did managed to hold on to some of their fans in fourth place.

The Star Wars film raked up $23 million and moved to fifth place on the all-time chart with $454.1 million. By Box Office Mojo’s estimates, the film will pass the original “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” record with $461 million to take fourth place on the all-time chart.

The 3D re-release gamble still proved to be a winner as 99 percent of the ticket sales were for 3D presentations. If the Star Wars box office numbers continue to be strong, George Lucas promised the other Star Wars films will all be re-released in 3D in the future.

The 1999 film starred Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman and Ray Park. It is about a pair of Jedi Knights discovering the involvement of the Dark Side as emissaries to Naboo.

“Chronicle” fell to fifth place with $12.3 million, a drop of 44.1 million from the previous weekend.

On Tuesday, February 14, McG-directed “This Means War” will make its premiere for Valentine’s audiences. And next weekend, comic book movie sequel “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” and animated film “The Secret World of Arrietty” make their way to the theaters.

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Here is the WEEKEND BOX OFFICE report for February 10-12, 2012:

Source: BoxOffice.com, Box Office Mojo

Follow @GigPatta