Taken had a victorious Super Bowl weekend, raking in $24.6 million on 3,500 screens at 3,183 theaters. It became the second-biggest Super Bowl opening behind 2008’s Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour. This edge-of-your-seat thriller starring Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace proved to be a satisfying dose of action with the previews showing Neeson proclaiming the lengths he'll go to save his kidnapped daughter and touting his “particular set of skills” that makes him especially deadly. Exit polls by 20th Century Fox show that 52 percent of the audience was male and 60 percent were over 25 years old.

After two weeks in the top spot, Paul Blart: Mall Cop dipped to second last weekend earning $14.0 million, bringing its three-week total to $83.4 million.

Hollywood's strategy of releasing female-friendly, family fare or horror flicks over Super Bowl weekend to attract those uninterested in the football failed to pay off for The Uninvited and New in Town, which suffered below average openings. The Uninvited, a remake of the Korean horror movie, A Tale of Two Sisters, grossed only $10.5 million on 2,400 screens at 2,344 theaters. Hotel for Dogs held fourth place, grossing $8.7 million, a 32 percent decrease from the previous weekend, for a three-week total of $48.2 million. While New in Town, a romantic comedy starring Renee Zellweger, opened in the fifth spot, earning a mere $6.8 million at 1,941 sites.

Gran Torino became the highest grossing picture of Clint Eastwood’s career, adding $8.6 million last weekend, a 47 percent decrease from the previous weekend, but bringing it total to a whopping $110.5 million.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans saw a 65 percent decrease last weekend, dipping to $7.2 million from its $20.8 million debut in theaters the previous weekend. The third installment of the Underworld franchise had the smallest opening numbers of the three, compared with the original Underworld, which grossed $21.8 million its opening weekend in 2003, while 2006's Underworld: Evolution did significantly better with $26.9 million. Rise of the Lycans earned a grand total of $32.8 million after two weeks.

Two Oscar nominees for Best Picture, The Reader and Milk, expanded into nationwide release, but failed to earn big. The Reader starring Golden Globe winner, Kate Winslet appeared at 1,200 theaters and grossed $2.4 million, while Milk starring Sean Penn earned $1.4 million at 882 theaters.

—Jessica Delli Santi