Liam Neeson’s Taken 3 rocks the box office as the number one movie in America.
Liam Neeson took no prisoners in Taken 3 as the movie earned $40.4 million in the box office, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The $48 million action film which was filmed in Atlanta last year, nearly beat last year’s record holder Ride Along, which opened to $41.5 million.
Taken 3 didn’t match the $49.5 million debut of Taken 2 in October 202, but latest release of Taken 3 had far more competition including The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, which was the reining king of the box office for three straight weeks.
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Taken 3 featured Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace. The movie also introduced Forest Whitaker to the Taken franchise. Olivier Megaton returned to the director’s chair while Robert Mark Kamen wrote the script.
Taken 3 centers around ex-covert operative Bryan Mills (Neeson) as he avenges the death of his ex-wife. Taken 3 has received mostly negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a rating of 11%, based on 73 reviews, with an average rating of 3.4/10. The site’s critical consensus reads, “Hampered by toothless PG-13 action sequences, incoherent direction, and a hackneyed plot,Taken 3 serves as a clear signal that it’s well past time to retire this franchise.” On Metacritic the film has a score of 26 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating “generally unfavorable reviews”.
Ava DuVernay’s Golden Globe nominee Selma came in as No. 2 in the box office making $14 million. The critically acclaimed movie currently sports a 99 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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