Weekend of January 30 – February 1, 2008

Pierre Morel’s action thriller “Taken” easily defeated its competition at the North American box office with $24.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Starring Liam Neeson, the film follows a former government operative who stops at nothing to find his daughter and punish those responsible for her kidnapping.

Last week’s box office champ “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” slipped to second place, earning another $14 million for a domestic total of $83.3 million after three weeks in release.

Meanwhile, new entry “The Uninvited” debuted at No. 3 with a weekend gross of $10.5 million. Charles and Thomas horror remake follows two sisters trying to convince their dad that his new girlfriend (Elizabeth Banks) is not who she pretends to be.

Things didn’t go so well for new release “New in Town,” Renee Zellweger’s comedy about a Florida businesswoman who discovers a new way of life while working in Minnesota. The film only made it to No. 8 with $6.7 million.

Staying put in fourth place was “Hotel for Dogs,” which reached a total haul of $48.2 million after weekend earnings of $8.7 million. Following at No. 5 was “Gran Torino,” which took home $8.6 million to reach a cumulative gross of $110.5 million.

After expanding to 1,633 theaters, Danny Boyle’s Oscar-nominated “Slumdog Millionaire” finished sixth with $7.6 million, lifting its domestic gross to $67.2 million after a solid 12-week run.

Losing big this weekend was “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans,” which lost five spots and slipped to No. 7 with $7.2 million. The prequel to Len Wiseman’s “Underworld” brought its cumulative gross to $32.7 million.

Two films rounded out the top 10: “My Bloody Valentine 3-D” pulled $4.2 million for a total of $44.6 million in ninth place, while “Inkheart” finished tenth with $3.7 million ($12.7 million cumulative gross).

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)