A surprise contender knocked Paul Blart off his Segway this weekend, with the Liam Neeson thriller Taken sweeping past the two-time box-office winner. Expected to debut moderately in the mid-teen millions, Taken posted a stellar $24.63 million in receipts, making it the second-highest grossing film to open Super Bowl weekend. It was more than enough to knock Paul Blart: Mall Cop down to No. 2 with a still-respectable holdover showing of $14 million.
The frame’s two other new releases debuted more modestly: PG-13 horror dreck The Uninvited clocked in with $10.51 million at No. 3, while the anemic rom-com New In Town took No. 8 with $6.75 million. Hotel For Dogs held fast at No. 4 with $8.71 million, while Gran Torino passed the $100 million mark this week (making it Clint Eastwood’s highest-grossing film ever), landing at No. 5 with $8.6 million over the weekend. Slumdog Millionaire inched down to No. 6, posting the smallest decline in numbers since last week, with $7.68 million. The biggest drop in the top 10 went to Underworld: Rise Of he Lycans, which plummeted 65 percent from No. 2 to No. 7 with $7.2 million. My Bloody Valentine 3D (No. 9 with $4.26 million) and Inkheart (No. 10 with $3.7 million) also took a numbers nosedive since last frame.
More detailed numbers can be found at boxofficemojo.com.