The EuropaCorp-Fox-Liam Neeson combination is a potent one and ensured a second weekend at the top for the thriller as the top 12 box office gained approximately 38% on the same session last year despite dropping 7.6% against last weekend.

Taken 2 has amassed $86.8m and combined with the $132.8m international running total through Fox International for a $219.4m global tally.

Warner Bros opened Argo, Ben Affleck’s critically acclaimed true-life thriller in second place on $20.1m. Affleck also stars as Tony Mendez, the CIA operative who devised a plan to extract six US embassy personnel during the Iranian Revolution.

Horror film Sinister starring Ethan Hawke and produced by Jason Blum opened in third through Summit Entertainment on $18.3m while Sony’s Kevin James comedy Here Comes The Boom arrived in fifth place on a lacklustre $12m. Sony’s Hotel Transylvania crossed $100m in its third weekend and ranks fourth on $102.2m.

There were two other new arrivals: CBS Films’ Seven Psychopaths, a madcap ensemble starring Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken and Colin Farrell that claimed the Midnight Madness audience award in Toronto last month, opened below expectations at number nine on $4.3m. Atlas Shrugged: Part II arrived in eleventh place through ADC on $1.7m.

Endgame Entertainment’s sci-fi thriller Looper fell four places to number eight through TriStar/FilmDistrict and grossed $6.3m in the third weekend for a $51.4m running total and combined with the international gross (mostly through FilmNation licensees) to cross $109m worldwide.

Summit Entertainment’s The Perks Of Being A Wallflower climbed one place to number ten in its fourth weekend on $2.2m for $6.2m.
The Weinstein Company’s The Master stands at $13.9m after five and Arbitrage has reached $6.7m after six through Roadside Attractions.

Middle Of Nowhere opened through AFFRM on $78,000 from six venues, while another Sundance 2012 entry Smashed arrived through SPC on $30,000 from four. The Weinstein Company released War Of The Buttons on a rather dismal $4,600 from five sites.

Next weekend’s wide releases are Paranormal Activity 4 through Paramount and independent thriller Alex Cross starring Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox and Ed Burns through Summit Entertainment.


Estimated Top 10 North America Oct 12-14 2012
Film (Dist) / Est wkd gross / Est total to date
1 (1) Taken 2 (Fox/EuropaCorp) Fox Int’l / EuropaCorp $22.5m $86.8m
2 (-) Argo (Warner Bros) WBPI $20.1m -
3 (-) Sinister (Summit Entertainment) IM Global $18.3m -
4 (2) Hotel Transylvania (Sony) SPRI $17.3m $102.2m
5 (-) Here Comes The Boom (Sony) SPRI $12m -
6 (3) Pitch Perfect (Universal) UPI $9.3m $36.1m
7 (5) Frankenweenie (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $7m $22m
8 (4) Looper (TriStar) FilmNation $6.3m $51.4m
9 (-) Seven Psychopaths (CBS Films) HanWay Films $4.3m -
10 (11) The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (Summit Entertainment) Summit Int’l $2.2m $6.2m