Taken, Paul Blart Best Renée Zellweger, Oscar Films

Liam Neeson thriller leads weekend box office with estimated $24.6 million; Kevin James comedy shows up Renee Zellweger's New in Town, Best Picture gang

It was a bad weekend to be an A-list actress or a Best Picture nominee. It was a good weekend—for the third weekend running—to be Paul Blart.

Kevin James' surprising Paul Blart: Mall Cop slipped to No. 2 in the box office standings, but picked up another $14 million, its studio estimated, and raised its haul to $83.4 million. Overall, the new Liam Neeson thriller, Taken, led all films with $24.6 million.

As for one Renée Zellweger and those five Oscar hopefuls…?

Zellweger's New in Town ($6.8 million) opened weaker than last spring's Leatherheads. In fact, it opened weaker than any Zellweger comedy since The Bachelor, which was really more a now-rare species known as a Chris O'Donnell comedy.

The Best Picture gang, meanwhile, didn't have much more firepower, with only the hot Slumdog Millionaire ($7.7 million) posting a Top 10-worthy gross.

In the two weekends since Oscar nominations were announced, only The Reader ($2.4 million) has seen its per-screen average rise at least once. Frost/Nixon ($1.4 million) has looked especially done—and the big show's still a month away.

Elsewhere:

• The new horror movie The Uninvited ($10.5 million) didn't quite live up to modest expectations.

• Gran Torino ($8.6 million) topped $110 million domestically, and became Clint Eastwood's top-grossing film ever as an actor or director. (Provided you don't adjust for inflation.)

• Numbers weren't available for The Dark Knight, still in about 200 theaters, but Warners exec Jeff Goldstein said today the movie was within about $1.5 million—or about two weeks—of hitting $1billion overall.

• Underworld: Rise of the Lycans ($7.2 million) dropped like a stone. Or Notorious ($1.7 million), as it were.

• After three weekends, Bride Wars ($3.6 million) was bounced from the Top 10. The $30 million comedy exits with a $53.9 million take.

Here's a recap of the holiday weekend's top-grossing films based on Friday-Sunday estimates from Exhibitor Relations:

1. Taken, $24.6 million
   
2. Paul Blart: Mall Cop, $14 million
3. The Uninvited, $10.5 million
4. Hotel for Dogs, $8.7 million
5. Gran Torino, $8.6 million
6. Slumdog Millionaire, $7.7 million
7. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, $7.2 million
   
8. New in Town, $6.8 million
9. My Blood Valentine 3D, $4.3 million
10. Inkheart, $3.7 million