Unknown tops US box office

unknown

Liam Neeson’s Taken -like new thriller Unknown blasted its way to the top of the US box office this weekend.

Garnering a fair (if not mind-blowing) $21m, Neeson showed the kiddies how it’s done, beating Alex Pettyfer’s teen sci-fi I Am Number Four ($19.5m, in second place).

Neeson's co-star Diane Kruger thinks it’s the age what has it: “Because of his age and because of his body of work and his gravitas as an actor, I think it brings a whole other layer of depth to this kind of film.”

I Am Number Four only just pipped CG toon Gnomeo And Juliet to second place, though, the latte rgrabbing $19.4m and third place, while Jennifer Aniston’s comedy J ust Go With It debunked to fourth ($18.2m), and the third Big Mommas defied expectation by opening in fifth ($17m).

Justin Bieber proved he could be both a box office draw and a successful tween crooner with his Never Say Never sticking around in sixth ($13.6m), while The King’s Speech added another $6.5m to its money pot (in seventh).

Stalky thriller The Roommate clung to eighth ($4.1m), Channing Tatum’s period actioner The Eagle didn’t impress in ninth ($3.5m), and No Strings Attached held out in tenth with $3.1m.

Next week, comedy Hall Pass and Nic Cage busted-out-of-hell action film Drive Angry open. But who’ll get the number one spot?

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.