Liam Neeson took the box office by storm yet again, while a few awards contenders made big moves.
In at number 1 is Taken 3 (read our review) with $40.4 million. That may not be the best opening for a Taken film, but it’s easily the second biggest debut for a January new release, just barely behind last year’s Ride Along ($41 million).
However, it’s worth noting that the Taken series has been trending downward over these last two films, despite stronger openings than the first. Still, if Fox was looking for a reason to extend the series to four films, this weekend’s tally is it.
Coming in at number 2 is Selma (read our review) with $11.2 million. Ava DuVernay’s biopic of Martin Luther King Jr. has been receiving rave reviews and made a decent splash in its nationwide debut.
With that awards season buzz on its side, and some potential Golden Globe hardware in its future, Selma could stick around for a long time. Either way, the film has grossed $13 million so far.
Unbroken is the number 3 film this weekend with $9.7 million. Angelina Jolie’s second directorial feature saw a pretty steep drop off (55%) in its third weekend, but is still hanging around. It also has $105 million in the bank, which is not too shabby either.
The number 4 film is The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies with $9.4 million. Now at $236 million domestic, Battle of the Five Armies has a solid chance of surpassing The Desolation of Smaug’s $258M but is unlikely to catch An Unexpected Journey’s $303M. In terms of worldwide grosses, The Battle of the Five Armies is still doing excellent business, and with $781 million the film is now the second best worldwide total for a 2014 release.
Rounding out the top 5 is Into the Woods with $8.3 million. Disney’s big budget musical adaptation is up to $101 million.
The Imitation Game comes in at number 6 with $7.6 million. Another film that is sure to get a boost if it wins a few awards tonight, The Imitation Game is now up to $40 million.
The number 7 film this weekend is Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb with $6.7 million. We’ll have to wait and see where final numbers end up, but based on this weekend’s tally, Night at the Museum 3 is right at $99 million total.
Coming in at number 8 is Annie with $4.9 million. The latest adaptation of the award-winning musical is up to $79 million.
In at number 9 is The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death with $4.8 million, which brings its domestic total up to $22 million. No surprise here, as horror films tend to see big drop-offs in their second weekend. Thankfully, the film’s low budget guarantees the film comes away with a solid profit.
Rounding out the top 10 is The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 with $3.7 million, which brings its domestic total up to $329 million. The film still hasn’t passed Guardians of the Galaxy yet, but it’s getting closer every day.
Outside the top 10: Inherent Vice expanded its limited release and grossed $2.9 million on 645 screens over the weekend, and American Sniper added $555,000 to its total.
[NOTE: These are only weekend box office estimates – based on Friday and Saturday ticket sales coupled with adjusted expectations for Sunday. Official weekend box office results will be released on Monday, January 12th – at which time we’ll update this post with any changes.]
