Liam Nee-son thriller Taken 2 won a battle between two hostage movies over the weekend, holding on to its top box office rankings for a second week with $22.5 million from ticket sales at U.S. and Canadian theatres.
Ben Affleck's highly praised Iran hostage thriller Argo was a close second, earning $20.1 million from Friday through Sunday. Low-budget horror movie Sinister came in third with $18.3 million, according to studio estimates compiled by Reuters.
Action sequel Taken 2 stars Neeson as a former CIA agent who is captured while on vacation in Istanbul. The movie has pulled in $86.8 million at North American theatres since its debut a week ago, plus $132.8 million from international markets.
With a worldwide box office total already reaching nearly $220 million, the film was close to equaling the final box office total of the first Taken movie ($226.8 million).
