"Taken 2" Tops the Weekend Box Office

Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox

Liam Neeson is a successful action star at the age of 60. The always impressive actor lifted his latest film, Taken 2, to the top spot at the weekend box office, earning an estimated $50 million. That number is almost double that of Hotel Transylvania (Sony/Columbia), which landed in second place, with just over $26 million. The family friendly flick looks poised to easily surpass the $100 million mark in the next two weeks. Another family friendly effort, the new film Frankenweenie (Disney), from Tim Burton, earned just $11.5 million, which fell below expectations.

Pitch Perfect (Universal) opened in wide release and landed in the number three spot, just short of $15 million. The musical comedy, starring Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson, has already surpassed the $20 million mark. Last week's number two film, Looper (Sony/TriStar), fell to fourth place, but held up well against Taken 2, adding just over $12 million. The well reviewed sci-fi film from Rian Johnson has earned over $40 million in just ten days.

Here are the Top Ten Weekend Films, according to early estimates(numbers are millions):

1. Taken 2 - $50.0

2. Hotel Transylvania - $26.3

3. Pitch Perfect - $14.7

4. Looper - $12.2

5. Frankenweenie - $11.5

6. End of Watch - $4.0

7. Trouble with the Curve - $3.9

8. House at the End of the Street - $3.7

9. The Master - $1.8

10. Finding Nemo 3D - $1.6