WOW! ALICE IN WONDERLAND EARNS A RECORD $116 MILLION AT THE BOXOFFICE THIS WEEKEND!

Curiouser and curiouser!

Movie audiences went mad as hatters for Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" weekend, spending a whopping $116.3 million at the box office this weekend, the highest-ever haul for a non-sequel, Variety reported.

Disney's fantasy film also obliterated the record for a movie not released in May, June, July or November, Paul Degarabedian, box office analyst for Hollywood.com, told the News.

"This is really unprecedented," said Degarabedian. "This literally proves that Hollywood can release a $100 million blockbuster at any time of the year."

"Brooklyn's Finest" came in second - more than $100 million behind "Alice in Wonderland" - with $13.5 million, narrowing finishing ahead of "Shutter Island," which earned $13.3 million in its third week.

By way of comparison, James Cameron's "Avatar," which went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time, earned $77.3 million in its opening weekend.

"Alice in Wonderland" just replaced "Avatar" this weekend on 3-D screens around the country - and though those numbers haven't yet been released, it's likely the higher priced tickets for that format was mostly responsible for this weekend's record box office.

"It had everything going for it: the movie has Tim Burton and Johnny Depp and the mystique that surrounds any project where the two of them work together. Coupled with a great marketing campaign, it had the perfect release date [with not much other competition.]

"And don't discount the 'Avatar' effect - think of the audience that was brought into theaters by the 3-D experience that they had with 'Avatar.'"