LOS ANGELES -- Moviegoers were Taken again at the box office by Liam Neeson, as his Taken 3 opened to about $39 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters last weekend and pushed the third installment of the Hobbit out of first place.
Selma, meanwhile, propelled by awards buzz and positive word of mouth, including promotion from co-star and producer Oprah Winfrey, leaped to second place with $11.3 million following its nationwide expansion.
Taken 3, which cost about $48 million to make, was financed by French writer-producer Luc Besson's EuropaCorp and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Neeson reprises his role as former covert operative Bryan Mills, who has to evade law enforcement officials and protect his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) after being framed in the murder of his ex-wife.
The franchise, now in perhaps its final installment, has been fruitful at the box office, in large part because of Neeson's appeal as a vigilante.
"Our expectations were set quite a bit lower than this. This is a phenomenal result," Chris Aronson, 20th Century Fox's head of domestic distribution. "It's a testament to the enduring popularity of the character Bryan Mills. That is coupled with the fact that this is the first pure entertainment popcorn movie that's been released in quite some time."
An estimated 64 percent of moviegoers were 25 or older, and 54 percent were male. The film earned a B-plus rating from audience polling firm CinemaScore but just a 12 percent positive rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
By comparison, Taken 2 opened to $50 million in October 2012. That was double what the original Taken made in 2009, when its $24.7 million start surprised the industry on the historically slow Super Bowl weekend. The franchise has grossed more than $600 million worldwide on combined budgets of $70 million.
Selma follows the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) in 1964 and '65 as he organizes and leads a march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.
The Paramount Pictures-distributed film, which cost about $20 million to make, has pulled in more than $13.6 million since its limited release on Christmas Day.
"It's a really incredible movie because it's playing so well in so many diverse places and has all of this organic grass-roots energy around it," said Megan Colligan, president of domestic marketing and distribution. "It's big cities, it's small cities -- it's touching people all over."
Colligan said one passionate fan in Louisiana reached out to Paramount asking if she could screen Selma at the local gym because there was no theater within 50 miles of town.
An estimated 43 percent of Selma moviegoers nationwide were black, and 40 percent were white. Sixty-one percent were female.
"The historical drama is a tough nut to crack to make it entertaining and inspiring and I think [director] Ava DuVernay figured out how to do that," Colligan said.
The film earned an A-plus on CinemaScore and a 98 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It nabbed four Golden Globe nominations and won for best original song, "Glory."
Holiday holdover Into the Woods rounded out the top three and crossed the $100 million mark at the domestic box office. It added about $9.6 million over the weekend, raising its total domestic haul to $105.1 million.
Directed by Rob Marshall, Disney's musical drama is a modern twist on several fairy tales and stars Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, Chris Pine and Johnny Depp. The film has received generally good reviews from critics and a B grade on CinemaScore. It also scored three Globe nominations.
New Line and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies fell to fourth after holding the top spot for three weeks in a row. Director Peter Jackson's film, based on the book by J.R.R. Tolkien, added about $9.4 million over the weekend. Its domestic haul to date is about $236.5 million.
In fifth place, Universal's Unbroken also crossed the $100 million mark. The Angelina Jolie-directed film added about $8.2 million, raising its total to about $101.4 million.
The drama, which cost about $65 million to make, is based on Laura Hillenbrand's 2010 nonfiction best-seller about Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner turned war hero. Though it has received mixed reviews from critics, audiences gave it an A-minus grade on CinemaScore.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Rentrak:
Taken 3, 20th Century Fox, $39,201,657, 3,594 locations, $10,908 average, $39,201,657, one week.
Selma, Paramount, $11,307,394, 2,179 locations, $5,189 average, $13,594,343, three weeks.
Into the Woods, Disney, $9,554,755, 2,833 locations, $3,373 average, $105,076,684, three weeks.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Warner Bros., $9,377,118, 3,402 locations, $2,756 average, $236,459,605, four weeks.
Unbroken, Universal, $8,170,305, 3,301 locations, $2,475 average, $101,404,575, three weeks.
The Imitation Game, The Weinstein Co., $7,213,862, 1,566 locations, $4,607 average, $40,430,301, seven weeks.
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, 20th Century Fox, $6,718,622, 3,371 locations, $1,993 average, $99,542,110, four weeks.
Annie, Columbia, $4,750,304, 2,856 locations, $1,663 average, $79,268,354, four weeks.
The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death, Relativity Media, $4,648,460, 2,602 locations, $1,786 average, $22,157,565, two weeks.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 1, Lionsgate, $3,765,893, 2,063 locations, $1,825 average, $329,540,446, eight weeks.
Inherent Vice, Warner Bros., $2,773,260, 645 locations, $4,300 average, $4,352,225, five weeks.
Wild, Fox Searchlight, $2,677,814, 1,286 locations, $2,082 average, $30,316,756, six weeks.
Big Hero 6, Disney, $2,308,936, 1,580 locations, $1,461 average, $214,524,894, 10 weeks.
The Gambler, Paramount, $2,305,574, 2,121 locations, $1,087 average, $32,262,888, three weeks.
Big Eyes, The Weinstein Co., $1,257,289, 1,044 locations, $1,204 average, $12,218,971, three weeks.
Penguins of Madagascar, 20th Century Fox, $1,172,380, 1,057 locations, $1,109 average, $79,850,006, seven weeks.
Interstellar, Paramount, $1,160,152, 703 locations, $1,650 average, $184,809,001, 10 weeks.
Exodus: Gods and Kings, 20th Century Fox, $1,103,400, 1,142 locations, $966 average, $63,655,505, five weeks.
Gopala Gopala, BlueSky Cinemas, $708,706, 100 locations, $7,087 average, $708,706, one week.
The Theory of Everything, Focus Features, $673,509, 408 locations, $1,651 average, $25,894,537, 10 weeks.
MovieStyle on 01/16/2015