Nearly six years after Brian Mills and his “very particular set of skills” first captivated audiences, Liam Neeson is back in Taken 3.  The final chapter in the series that first established Neeson as an action star, Taken 3 easily took first place yesterday: earning an estimated $14.7 million from 3,594 locations.  That puts the film on track for close to $35 million through Sunday.  If realized, that would give Taken 3 one of the top five January openings of all time – though it would also be well below the $49.5 million debut that Taken 2 claimed in October 2012.  Second place on Friday went to Selma with an estimated $3.8 million.  The Civil Rights era biopic (and Golden Globes nominee) earned more than $2.2 million after fifteen days in limited release.  After expanding to 2,179 locations on Friday, Selma is projected to bring in another $15 million.

Full story and Friday’s top five after the jump.

After earning over $1.5 million over four weeks in limited release, Inherent Vice expanded to 645 locations on Friday.  The latest from director Paul Thomas Anderson brought in an estimated $960,000 towards a projected $3 million weekend.

Holdovers claimed the remaining spots on Friday’s top five chart.  Falling to fourth place, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has now earned almost $230 million in North America.  The Hobbit 3 also crossed a significant milestone earlier this week when its international total climbed above $500 million.  That gives the film over $746 million in worldwide earnings on the eve of its fifth (international) weekend.

Check back tomorrow for details and the weekend’s top ten.

 Title

Friday

Total

1.

 Taken 3

$14,700,000

$14.7

2.

 Selma

$3,800,000

$6

3.

 Unbroken

$2,600,000

$95.8

4.

 The Hobbit 3

$2,465,000

$229.5

5.

 Into the Woods

$2,455,000

$97.9

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Image via Paramount