Liam Neeson's 'Taken 3' tops weekend box office with $39.2M debut

Liam Neeson has a new skill to add to his resume: taking down "The Hobbit" at the box office.

"Taken 3" swiped first place at the box office away from three-week reigning champion "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies." The 20th Century Fox thriller series starring Neeson as a vengeance-seeking retired CIA operative with "a very particular set of skills" earned $39.1 million.

Paramount's civil rights drama "Selma" expanded into wide release and arrived in second place with $11.3 million.

In its third week at the box office, the Disney musical "Into the Woods" earned $9.5 million in third place.

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The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Rentrak:

1. "Taken 3," 20th Century Fox, $39,201,657, 3,594 locations, $10,908 average, $39,201,657, 1 week.

3. "Into The Woods," Disney, $9,554,755, 2,833 locations, $3,373 average, $105,076,684, 3 weeks.

4. "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies," Warner Bros., $9,377,118, 3,402 locations, $2,756 average, $236,459,605, 4 weeks.

5. "Unbroken," Universal, $8,170,305, 3,301 locations, $2,475 average, $101,404,575, 3 weeks.

6. "The Imitation Game," The Weinstein Co., $7,213,862, 1,566 locations, $4,607 average, $40,430,301, 7 weeks.

7. "Night At The Museum: Secret of the Tomb," 20th Century Fox, $6,718,622, 3,371 locations, $1,993 average, $99,542,110, 4 weeks.

9. "The Woman In Black 2: Angel of Death," Relativity Media, $4,648,460, 2,602 locations, $1,786 average, $22,157,565, 2 weeks.

10. "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1," Lionsgate, $3,765,893, 2,063 locations, $1,825 average, $329,540,446, 8 weeks.

11. "Inherent Vice," Warner Bros., $2,773,260, 645 locations, $4,300 average, $4,352,225, 5 weeks.

12. "Wild," Fox Searchlight, $2,677,814, 1,286 locations, $2,082 average, $30,316,756, 6 weeks.

13. "Big Hero 6," Disney, $2,308,936, 1,580 locations, $1,461 average, $214,524,894, 10 weeks.

15. "Big Eyes," The Weinstein Co., $1,257,289, 1,044 locations, $1,204 average, $12,218,971, 3 weeks.

16. "Penguins of Madagascar," 20th Century Fox, $1,172,380, 1,057 locations, $1,109 average, $79,850,006, 7 weeks.

17. "Interstellar," Paramount, $1,160,152, 703 locations, $1,650 average, $184,809,001, 10 weeks.

18. "Exodus: Gods and Kings," 20th Century Fox, $1,103,400, 1,142 locations, $966 average, $63,655,505, 5 weeks.

19. "Gopala Gopala," BlueSky Cinemas, $708,706, 100 locations, $7,087 average, $708,706, 1 week.