liam-neeson-taken-2-sequel-slice

October’s box office got off to an impressive start on Friday with the launch of Taken 2. More than three years after Liam Neeson and his “very particular set of skills” captivated audiences in Taken, the sequel took in an estimated $18.6 million from 3,661 locations on its opening day. That puts Taken 2 on track for a $50 million first weekend – more than double what its predecessor realized in its debut and just shy of the all-time October opening record set last year by Paranormal Activity 3. After setting a new record for a September opening last weekend, Hotel Transylvania remained a force on Friday with its second-place estimate of $6.5 million. Unfortunately, that was not good news for Disney’s Frankenweenie. With its similar theme and target audience, the stop-motion animated film from director Tim Burton fell short of Hotel Transylvania: earning an estimated $3.3 million from its 3,005 locations towards what should be a $12 million opening frame. We’ll have full details tomorrow.

Title

Friday

Total

1.

Taken 2

$18,600,000

$18.6

2.

Hotel Transylvania

$6,500,000

$56.1

3.

Pitch Perfect

$4,900,000

$11.7

4.

Looper

$3,500,000

$31.6

5.

Frankenweenie

$3,300,000

$3.3