Weekend Box Office: 'Taken 2' Takes It, 'Frankenweenie' Flops

Liam Neeson must have made some threatening calls to moviegoers this weekend, as "Taken 2" dominated the box office and turned in a great performance to follow up the first movie's box office success. The sequel brought in about $50 million over the weekend, including strong midnight shows on Friday. That could put it on pace to match or pass the $142 million domestic that the original "Taken" brought in during its run in theaters, despite much worse reviews from critics.

In second place was "Hotel Transylvania," which must have benefited from some good word of mouth: the movie dropped only 36% from its first weekend to bring in another $27.1 million. That puts the cumulative total for the animated movie at $76.8M after just two weekends, a certified hit for Adam Sandler.

"Pitch Perfect" opened up in a wider release this weekend after giving a very strong performance in just a handful of theaters last weekend. It performed just as strongly nationwide, pulling in $14.6 million for a cume of $21.5M with last weekend's limited release. That already puts the movie in the black, as it cost a mere $17 million to make thanks to bargain talent (by cost not quality).

"Looper" managed a fourth place finish by falling only 42% to $12 million in its second weekend. That brings the cume for the sci-fi time-travel movie to a solid $40.1 million, a big win for original, cerebral movies and for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who now appears primed for some big leading roles.

The loser of the weekend was "Frankenweenie," which flopped despite a big marketing campaign. The Tim Burton flick managed only $11.1 million in a fairly wide release, making it look very similar in performance to "Corpse Bride," his most recent stop-motion movie which also failed to bring in the dollars. However, given its subject matter, "Frankenweenie" might have a decent run down the stretch as we near Halloween and parents look for Halloween-themed movies that won't frighten the kids.

1. "Taken 2" - $50 million
2. "Hotel Transylvania" - $27.1 million ($76.8M)
3. "Pitch Perfect" - $14.6 million ($21.5M)
4. "Looper" - $12 million ($40.1M)
5. "Frankenweenie" - $11.1 million