'Taken 3' Dominated This Weekend's Box Office

Serving as the butt of many jokes and the subject of some harsh criticism has not stopped this movie. Taken 3 earned a whopping $40.4 million in North America, as well as $41 million oversees. The latest (though not necessarily last) installment in the Liam Neeson action series has topped the weekend's box office. In doing so, it has removed another third installment that many people joked was unnecessary, The Hobbit: The Battle Of Five Armies, from its three-week box office reign.

Taken 3 has done well publicity-wise, what with Liam Neeson killing it on his press tour; literally, he threatened his movie daughter Maggie Grace's ex boyfriend with his particular set of skills as Brian Mills. The film brings back the rest of the cast, and I'm sure the addition of Forest Whitaker hasn't hurt. Its story is similar to the Taken predecessors, with Mills tracking down his ex-wife's killers and protecting his daughter. You know, the usual.

I think that this winter's box office champions prove one thing: despite what critics have to say, tired franchises make money. If you are one of the many who, like myself, wondered what more could possibly be taken in Taken 3 , it seems that many of you were willing to shell out the money to have that question answered.

Trilogies weren't the only movies to do well this weekend. Selma came in second at the box office, earning $11.2 million, while Unbroken and Into The Woods continued to perform well. One sequel, Woman In Black 2: But Without Daniel Radcliffe (or whatever it's called), did not do so well in its second week. While it opened to outstanding numbers, it fell 68% this weekend. But who knows? Woman In Black 3 might be just around the corner.