In addition, the Paramount release’s glowing A+ CinemaScore indicates a bright road ahead as those who did show up loved the film and will be recommending it. Plus many Oscar nominations are expected this Thursday including Best Picture which will ignite interest immediately. Next weekend is likely to post strong numbers given that it is the long MLK holiday frame. Butler‘s $8,400 and off 44 percent compared to 42‘s $9,153.īut Selma does have plenty of upside in its near future. Both played in more theaters, however Selma‘s average was down 39 percent vs. The wide opening was less than half of the $24.6M for The Butler and the $27.5M of 42 – other dramas about real African American men from recent history. It was a disappointing showing for what has been a hot film during awards season with the PG-13 pic earning rave reviews across the board, plenty of nominations from numerous film groups, and having a very relevant true story about civil rights for blacks in America. Jumping up to second place in its first weekend of nationwide play was the MLK drama Selma which grossed an estimated $11.2M from 2,179 locations for a mediocre $5,140 average. The three films combined may end with about $900M in global box office off of $120M in combined budgets. Produced for $48M, including a hefty payday for Neeson, Taken 3 should be another moneymaker especially as international appeal for the Luc Besson-produced films has always been substantial for this franchise. Critics slammed the PG-13 offering which is common for action threequels, but paying audiences were generally satisfied as the CinemaScore grade was a decent B+. Threequels are generally front-loaded, Friday grosses include Thursday night pre-shows, and this particular Saturday featured the distraction of two high-profile NFL playoff games so to witness any increase was remarkable.ĭemographic data from Fox showed that Taken 3‘s audience was 54 percent male, 64 percent over 25, and 54 percent non-white.

The third chapter impressed on Saturday and actually rose 5 percent from Friday.

Taken 3 attacked 3,594 locations and averaged a fantastic $11,241. The gross was down from the $49.5M of Taken 2 from 2012 but up sharply from the $24.7M launch of 2009’s first film which became a sleeper hit.

If the estimate holds, it will rank as the second best January debut of all-time behind just Ride Along which bowed to $41.5M a year ago. Audiences lined up for Liam Neeson one last time as the final chapter of his signature franchise, Taken 3, stormed the North American box office with a muscular performance opening to an estimated $40.4M.

Taken 3 rotten tomatoes