Liam Neeson, Wolf and Worthington Conquerer – Biff Bam Pop’s Box Office Wrap-up Report, Weekend of January 27th, 2012

A solid weekend for Liam Neeson, a most unlikely action hero, while two films underperformed, just not exactly how I expected. Here’s how things turned out at the box office this weekend.

The Grey, featuring Liam Neeson vs a pack of wolves, topped the box office with $20 million, exactly as predicted. It’s slightly lower than his other staring roles in action flicks (Taken and Unknown), but the results are nothing to scoff at. We’ll see if The Grey can stay strong going into next weekend.

Debuting in third place with 11.7 million is One For The Money, staring Katherine Heigl. It’s a bit of an unexpected showing, as I thought the film would make about three million less. However, the film, based on a bestseller by Janet Evanovich definitely found a bit of an audience, at least this week. I wouldn’t expect it to hold up or find an audience in the coming weeks though, so it will be interesting to see what route Heigl’s career takes after this. Is she someone that can still open a film?

The final debut this weekend comes from Man On A Ledge, staring Sam Worthington. The film seriously underperformed, barely showing up in fifth place with with an abysmal $8.3 million. The film has plenty of advertising and Worthington should be a bankeable star, but it seems as though he’s not the draw in his other films (ie Clash Of The Titans); special effects are. Look for Man On A Ledge on VOD or DVD shelves sooner than later.

As for the rest of the top five, Underworld: Awakening dropped to second place, bringing in $12.5 million, just two million less than predicted, while Red Tails landed in fourth with $10.4 million.

So, to recap, here were our predictions:

1) The Grey – $20.5 million
2) Underworld: Awakening – 14.5 million
3) Man On A Ledge – $13 million
4) Red Tails – $12.5 million
5) One For The Money – $8 million

And here’s how the weekend turned out:

1) The Grey – $20 million
2) Underworld: Awakening – 12.5 million
3) One For The Money – $11.7 million
4) Red Tails – $10.4 million
5) Man On A Ledge – $8.3 million

Next week sees the release of the Daniel Radcliffe-staring horror film The Woman In Black, and Chronicle, a new superhero flick. Check back on Friday to see how we predict those movies will debut!