Taken Snatches Box Office

Thriller bumps Mall Cop from top spot

By Laurel Jorgensen, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 1, 2009 4:09 PM CST

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Taken Snatches Box Office — In this image released by 20th Century Fox, Maggie Grace is shown in a scene from, "Taken." (AP Photo/20th Century Fox, Stephanie Branchu)

The CIA thriller Taken nabbed the box office title from Paul Blart: Mall Cop, simultaneously pushing Hollywood to its first billion-dollar January, reports AP. Taken, starring Liam Neeson as a former CIA operative pursuing kidnappers, pulled in $24.6 million on Super Bowl weekend—in which thrillers typically underperform because of a drop-off in male moviegoers, reports Variety. Mall Cop banked $14 million this weekend, bumping its total to $83.4 million. Horror flick The Uninvited debuted at No. 3 with $10.5 million.
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