Box office roundup – Oct. 14, 2012 – Audiences remain taken with "Taken 2"

1. Taken 2 – $22.5 million [$90 million in total; second week] Despite an abysmal 21% fresh rating on rottentomatoes.com, Liam Neeson’s latest action film retained the box office crown despite some strong competition.

2. Argo– $20.1 million [debut week] Ben Affleck’s latest directorial effort wowed critics a bit more than audiences as his early entry into the awards season made a decent, but not spectacular haul. But with strong word-of-mouth, this should remain in the Top 5 for a few more weeks and could reach the top spot eventually.

3. Sinister – $18.2 million [debut week] Ethan Hawke’s new thriller showed that audiences are still in the mood for a good scare beyond the success of two-time box-office champ “The Possession” in August. Horror films don’t tend to have long-stays on the Top 5 and with direct competition coming from the new “Silent Hill” film, don’t be surprised to see this out of the Top 5 next week.

 

4. Hotel Transylvania – $17.3 million [$102 million; third week] – This animated surprise has held up very well and crossed the $100 million mark this weekend and has covered its $85 million production budget. Next weekend should handle the advertising budget so don’t be shocked to hear news of “Hotel Transylvania 2” soon.

5. Here Comes the Boom – $12 million [debut week] – Not the best showing for Kevin James, even though this is one of his better films — granted his body of work includes Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Zookeeper, but still. This may cause some concern of James’ ability to be a box-office headliner. The small consolation may be that at least “Hotel Transylvania,” which he starred as the voice of Frankenstein is still doing well.