Taken 2 dominated the box office as expected this weekend, boasting one of the best October debuts ever. Taken 2 earned an estimated $50 million since opening on Friday, that’s more than double the first Taken’s $24.7 million.
Taken 2’s success shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, Taken, despite three years since its release, maintained a very strong interest and following. 20th Century Fox capitalized on this vested interest by pushing a simple yet effective marketing campaign; make sure the movie is well-liked, and promise more of the same.
Film critics abused the film with no remorse calling it, “So lazily put together that it relies on flashbacks from its predecessor for the majority of its character development,” says Dana Stevens. However, moviegoers were much more forgiving, giving the film a “B+” CinemaScore. Still, Taken 2 faces a real challenge matching its predecessors $145 million Domestic total.
Liam Neeson stars as a highly skilled special agent trying to protect his wife (Famke Janssen) and his daughter (Maggie Grace) from Armenian gangsters. Olivier Megaton directs the film with a screenplay by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen.
Below is a chart of the top 12 box office estimates.
Weekend Box Office
October 5, 2012 – October 7, 2012
| Title | Studio | Weekend | Theaters | Total | Week | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taken 2 | 20th Century Fox | $50,000,000 | 3,661 | $50,000,000 | 1 | ||
| Hotel Transylvania | Sony Pictures Animation | $26,300,000 | 3,352 | $75,958,500 | 2 | ||
| Pitch Perfect | Universal Pictures | $14,736,000 | 2,770 | $21,582,200 | 2 | ||
| Looper | TriStar Pictures (Sony) | $12,200,000 | 2,993 | $40,300,650 | 2 | ||
| Frankenweenie | Walt Disney Pictures | $11,500,000 | 3,005 | $11,500,000 | 1 | ||
| End of Watch | Open Road Films | $4,000,000 | 2,370 | $32,845,900 | 3 | ||
| Trouble with the Curve | Warner Bros. Pictures | $3,870,000 | 3,003 | $29,709,800 | 3 | ||
| House at the End of the Street | Relativity Media | $3,698,000 | 2,720 | $27,531,100 | 3 | ||
| Finding Nemo 3D | Disney•Pixar | $1,555,000 | 1,746 | $38,969,460 | 4 | ||
| The Master | The Weinstein Company | $1,840,000 | 864 | $12,315,300 | 4 | ||
| The Perks of Being a Wallflower | Summit Entertainment | $1,525,000 | 221 | $3,307,300 | 3 | ||
| Resident Evil: Retribution | Screen Gems (Sony) | $1,150,000 | 1,361 | $41,000,700 | 4 |
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