'Taken' scores big at Friday box office

Pierre Morel's thriller "Taken" stormed the North American box office Friday with an estimated $9.3 million in ticket sales.

In the film written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, Liam Neeson plays a former government opertive tracking down those responsible for his daughter's kidnapping.

Debuting at No. 2 with $4.3 million was Charles and Thomas Guard's horror flick "The Uninvited," about two sisters who are convinced their dad's new fiancee is not the person she pretends to be.

Following in third place was Kevin James' comedy "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," which earned $4.1 million for a $73.5 million total. Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" took home another $2.6 million and lifted its domestic gross to $104.5 million.

At No. 5, "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" pulled $2.5 million, reaching a total haul of $28.1 million after one week in release. "New in Town," this week's third wide release, only made it to No. 6 with $2.4 million.

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