Weekend Box Office: Liam Neeson’s thriller “Unknown” takes first, “I Am Number Four” is second

Any movie Liam Neeson is in is usually something I want to see no matter what the critics say.

His latest thriller, Unknown, was widely panned but audiences did not stay away. The film grossed an estimated $21.8 million in its debut weekend to edge past fellow newcomer I Am Number Four which took in an impressive $19.5 million, according to studio estimates.

These two strong debuts pushed last weekend’s top films down a notch or two.

In third place was Disney’s animated Gnomeo and Juliet featuring the music of Elton John. The film held very well losing just 23 percent of its audience from last weekend with estimated ticket sales of $19.4 million and a two-week total of $50.4 million. It should add plenty more on the Presidents Day holiday with kids out of school.

The Jennifer Aniston-Adam Sandler comedy Just Go With It fell from first to fourth place but still performed strongly with a second week gross of $18.2 million and a 10-day total of $60.7 million.

Rounding out the top five was the weekend’s third new wide release: the comedy Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son. The third film in this franchise opened with an estimated gross of $17 million.

This relegated Justin Bieber’s film Never Say Never to sixth place after last weekend’s second place opening. It took in an estimated $13.6 million for a two-week total of $51.7 million.

For a full box office report and chart, I recommend you go to Hollywood.com!