February 2009 grossed $770 million at the box office, making it the highest earning February on record, with the action-thriller Taken leading the way.

Taken, released in January, grossed $84.3 million, which accounted for 11 percent of the month’s box office business. And for the first time since 1998, when Titanic was champion, a non-February release generated the most cash during the month.

He’s Just Not That Into You ranked second with $77.2 million in February earnings, 10 percent of the monthly total.

In third place, Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail grossed $60.9 million. Friday the 13th rounded out the top four with $59.5 million.

Other successful releases from prior months contributed to February’s all time high: Slumdog Millionaire cashed in at $46 million in February, its fourth month in theaters and the highest grossing month for the rags-to-riches tale thus far.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop contributed $45.9 million to the February take, and now totals $128.5 million. Mall Cop finished second for the month of January behind Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino, which ranked tenth in February earning $28.9 million.

There were also some box office flops that debuted last month. Confessions of a Shopaholic opened on February 13th and grossed a mere $32.7 million. The film was expected to do better since it’s based on the very popular book series by Sophie Kinsella. Also, Pink Panther 2 grossed $31.9 million, which opened on February 6th. The first Pink Panther remake was the top grosser for February 2006.

Overall box office business was up 10 percent from last year, which was the previous best-ever February.

—Jessica Delli Santi