The little advertised Liam Neeson thriller Taken bumped off Paul Blart: Mall Cop at the weekend box office, raking in $24.6 million to land in the #1 spot. Impressive, considering I hadn’t heard about the film until a week ago.
But the plot, which follows Neeson as a former CIA operative trying to track down a group of kidnappers who want to sell his daughter into the sex slave trade, sounds promising.
“Mall Cop,” the Kevin James comedy about a clumsy security guard, had been No. 1 the previous two weeks. Although it dropped to second place, it earned $14 million to boost its three-week total to over $83 million. That’s quite an achievement for a film I expected was going to be a big flop.
Also opening this weekend was The Uninvited, yet another remake of a Korean thriller. The film pits two sisters against their potentially evil stepmother. It earned $10.5 million for third place.
In fourth was Hotel for Dogs with $8.7 million, followed by Gran Torino with $8.6 million.
The latter film, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood as a bigot who becomes a reluctant neighborhood hero, has now earned more than $110 million, making it Eastwood’s highest grossing film.
Slumdog Millionaire, which continues to collect honors this awards season, was sixth with $7.7 million, bringing its total to more than $67 million in 12 weeks, as it moves into wider release across the U.S. It doesn’t seem like the film has any intention of slowing down and should surpass the $100 million mark.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC.
1. “Taken,” $24.6 million.
2. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” $14 million.
3. “The Uninvited,” $10.5 million.
4. “Hotel for Dogs,” $8.7 million.
5. “Grand Torino,” $8.6 million.
6. ” Slumdog Millionaire ,” $7.7 million.
7. ” Underworld: Rise of the Lycans ,” $7.2 million.
8. “New in Town,” $6.7 million.
9. ” My Bloody Valentine 3-D ,” $4.3 million.
10. ” Inkheart ,” $3.7 million.
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