Sunday:
Fox’s Liam Neeson CIA thriller “Taken” was able to push tubby “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” aside at this weekend’s box office, nabbing an impressive $24.6 million, the second-best Super Bowl debut ever (behind last year’s “Hannah Montana”), according to Media by Numbers. The film, starring Neeson as a former operative trying to rescue his kidnapped daughter, proves that male movie-goers can still make time for the movies on one of the year’s biggest sports weekends.
But Sony’s surprise hit “Blart” stayed in the game -- the Kevin James comedy about a klutzy security guard banked $14 million. The film only saw a slight 35% drop in its third weekend in theaters, bringing its total to around $83 million as it rapidly approaches the $100 million mark.
“The Uninvited,” Paramount’s PG-13 rated horror film, came in third with $10.5 million while “Hotel for Dogs” followed with $8.7 million. Meanwhile, Lionsgate’s lukewarm Renee Zellweger-Harry Connick Jr. romantic comedy “New in Town” was barely welcomed in theaters, bringing in a less-than-stellar gross of $6.75 million.
Box office revenues were up about 20% this month as compared to the same time last year, scoring a record $1.03 billion for January. Attendance was up 16%. “Blart’s” success as well as “Gran Torino,” – Clint Eastwood’s highest-grossing film which added $8.6 million to its $110 domestic gross this weekend – have helped to make January a profitable month.
Fox Searchlight’s “Slumdog Millionaire,” whose director Danny Boyle won the top prize at the Directors Guild Awards on Saturday, expanded to 1,663 theaters in its second weekend in wide release, grossing $7.7 million to bring its total to $67.2 million in 12 weeks. Other Oscar best picture hopefuls expanded nationwide as well, but didn’t see huge returns – The Weinstein Co’s “The Reader” grossed $2.4 million but was up 69% from last weekend, while “Milk” added $1.4 million to a $23.4 million tally.
Rank Name Weeks Gross Per Screen Avg. Total 1 Taken (Fox) 1 $24.6m $7,736 $24.6m 2 Paul Blart: Mall Cop (Sony/Columbia) 3 $14.0m $4,367 $83.4m 3
The Uninvited (Paramount)
1 $10.5m $4,485 $10.5m 4 Hotel for Dogs (Paramount) 3 $8.7m $2,755 $48.2m 5 Gran Torino (Warner Bros.) 8 $8.6m $2,852 $110.5m 6 Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) 12 $7.7m $4,703 $67.2m 7 Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (Sony/Screen Gems) 2 $7.2m $2,447 $32.8m 8 New in Town (Lionsgate) 1 $6.8m $3,478 $6.8m 9 My Bloody Valentine 3-D (Lionsgate) 3 $4.3m $3,030 44.6m 10 Inkheart (Warner Bros.) 2 $3.7m $1,394 12.8m
Saturday Update:
Twentieth Century Fox’s Liam Neeson action-thriller “Taken” scored a touchdown Friday, taking in an estimated $9.4 million and making the day the best opening day ever for Super Bowl weekend.
The film, in which Neeson stars as a former government operative trying to save his kidnapped daughter, could pull in over $22 million this weekend, according to studio insiders.
No such good news for another new entrant this weekend. Despite the star power of Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr.,
