Taken 2, the long-gestating sequel to the successful 2008 action thriller, repeated this past weekend as the movie box office champion with $22.5 million in ticket sales, according to information from Box Office Mojo. The film, distributed by News Corp. (FOX) unit Twentieth Century Fox, is in its second week of release and thus far has grossed nearly $87 million domestically, according to Box Office Mojo, and $132 million in foreign sales. The film's production budget is estimated at $45 million.
No. 2 over the weekend was a newly released film, the heavily promoted Argo, a suspenseful tale about a CIA operative staging an unusual rescue of Americans trapped in Iran just after that country's 1979 revolution. Directed by and starring Ben Affleck, a generally reliable box office draw, the film took in a little over $20 million on a budget of around $44.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo. Argo, distributed by Time Warner (TWX) subsidiary Warner Bros., has not yet been released in foreign markets.
Just behind those two were horror film Sinister, distributed by Lions Gate's (NYSE: LGF) Summit Entertainment, and the top animation entry at the moment, Sony's (SONY -0.33%) light horror comedy Hotel Transylvania. The former has done particularly well considering its cost -- in opening weekend it made $18 million in ticket sales against a production budget of only $3 million.
Hotel Transylvania brought in $17 million over the weekend, according to Box Office Mojo
