Taken surprised Hollywood this weekend with an estimated $24.6 million, proving that a male-driven film can excel on Super Bowl weekend.
Liam Neeson isn’t known as an action star, but the kinetic “Jason Bourne as a dad” trailers and a straightforward plot connected with audiences. Good reviews helped, too.
Coming in second was two-week champ Paul Blart: Mall Cop, with $14 million. The Uninvited, new this weekend, came in at #3 with $10.5 million.
The weekend’s third release, New in Town, disappointed in 8th place with a $6.8 million opening.
Gran Torino surpassed the $100 million mark this past week and now stands at $110 million. Oscar favorite Slumdog Millionaire made $7.7 in its twelfth week of release for a total that now stands at $67 million.
All other Best Picture contenders have failed to capitalize on their nominations — The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, and The Reader all had per-theater averages of less than $2,500 (versus, for example, Taken’s $7,736), and none of the latter three have cracked even $25 million at the box office yet.
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