'Taken 3' Throat-Chops Its Way To The #1 Spot

The third and final installment of the action-packed film franchise Taken is off to a great start this week. Taken 3 opened at first place this weekend at $40.4 million, which puts it as the second highest January opening ever after 2014's Ride Along.

That number is still 18% down from Taken's last film, but all in all, it's an impressive number. It will likely close at around $110 million.

Selma, in second place, took in about $11.2 million with its expansion to 2,200 new locations. That low number, however, doesn't point to the quality of the film. It had excellent reviews, good word-of-mouth, and could very well be up for a Best Picture nomination soon.

Inherent Vice continued with its roller coaster opening, taking in an additional $2.9 million. It will likely close at around $10 million.

American Sniper, on the other hand, is doing exceptionally well. The film's per-theater average now ranks the 17th-highest all time, and it holds three of the Top 20 highest per-theater averages ever, with numbers at around $138,750 per venue.

It will expand to over 3,200 theaters next weekend.

Here's the full box office roundup (via Box Office Mojo):

1. Taken 3 $40,400,000
2. Selma $11,200,000
3. Into the Woods $9,750,000
4. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies $9,435,000
5. Unbroken $8,368,000
6. The Imitation Game $7,624,000
7. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb $6,700,000
8. Annie (2014) $4,919,000
9. The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death $4,825,000
10. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 $3,750,000

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