Taken 2 | featured news

Liam Neeson's "Taken 2" has defended its box-office title with a narrow win over Ben Affleck's "Argo." Sunday studio estimates put 20th Century Fox's action sequel "Taken 2" at No. 1 with $22.5 million in its second weekend. "Taken 2" raised its domestic total to $86.8 million.

Kevin James comedy "Here Comes the Boom" is soft; "Atlas Shrugged: Part 2" hasn't yet galvanized conservative moviegoers. Summit Entertainment's microbudgeted horror pic Sinister stole the show at the Friday box office, grossing $7.5 million and beating holdover Taken 2 and Ben Affleck's new political thriller Argo.

The Liam Neeson action pic grosses $50 million in North America and $55 million overseas; musical comedy "Pitch Perfect" turns in a solid $14.7 million domestically, while Tim Burton's "Frankenweenie" falters with $11.5 million.

Liam Neeson and ‘Taken 2” are looking at a $48 million weekend after blasting past their box office rivals Friday and rolling to a first-day total of $18.6 million. The gangbusters debut for Fox’s PG13-rated action sequel marks the second consecutive week a movie has broken out and lifted the box office into positive territory. If the weekend stays on pace, it will finish more than 30 percent ahead of last year, when “Real Steel” lead the way with a $27 million debut.

Liam Neeson and Luc Besson have come to a meeting of the minds and they have worked out the scheduling snafu that made him iffy for Taken 2. Neeson's reps at CAA are now closing the deal for Neeson to reprise what has become a signature role. Production is now being eyed for year end or beginning of 2012.