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'Unknown' uncovers $25.6M to top box office

Liam Neeson has proven himself a known quantity again at the box office.Neeson's thriller, "Unknown," debuted as the No. 1 movie with $25.6 million over the long weekend, following in the footsteps of his 2009 action hit "Taken," according to studio estimates Monday.Another action tale, "I Am Number Four," opened at No. 3 with $22.6 million.A Warner Bros. release, "Unknown" stars Neeson as a botan
/ Source: TODAY news services

Liam Neeson has proven himself a known quantity again at the box office.

Neeson's thriller, "Unknown," debuted as the No. 1 movie with $25.6 million over the long weekend, following in the footsteps of his 2009 action hit "Taken," according to studio estimates Monday.

Another action tale, "I Am Number Four," opened at No. 3 with $22.6 million.

A Warner Bros. release, "Unknown" stars Neeson as a botanist who awakens from a coma to find his wife claims she does not know him and that another man has taken his identity.

DreamWorks' "I Am Number Four" stars Alex Pettyfer as a teenage alien refugee on Earth who develops superpowers to battle the evil invaders that destroyed his planet. It was the first DreamWorks movie released under the company's distribution deal with Disney.

While "I Am Number Four" held youth appeal, "Unknown" was a rare No. 1 film that did most of its business among older crowds. According to Warner, 54 percent of the movie's audience was 50 and over and 89 percent was 25 and over.

The 58-year-old Neeson has had action roles before but found unexpected success as an all-out action hero with "Taken," a $100 million hit.

"He's the new man. He's stepped up to the plate. Put him in the right role and he's every man's action star," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner.

Two movies that opened the previous weekend held the next two spots in the top 10.

"Gnomeo and Juliet" experienced a slight 24 percent drop in ticket sales from its debut last weekend. Typically, a major studio release like "Gnomeo" might be expected drop around a 50 percent in its second weekend, but the family film has been helped by generally good critics' reviews and audience ratings.

Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston's romance "Just Go With It," which had been No. 1 the previous weekend, fell to fourth place with $21.7 million. The Sony release lifted its total to $64.3 million.

The weekend's other new wide release, Martin Lawrence's comedy, "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son," was No. 5 with $19 million. The 20th Century Fox sequel has Lawrence reprising his role as a federal agent who goes undercover as a hefty woman to crack a case.

Ticket sales for all films in theaters from Friday through Monday were estimated at $174 million, down around 27 percent from 2010's Presidents Day weekend tally of $239.3 million, according to industry tracker Hollywood.com Box Office.

"This was certainly not a record President's Day weekend by any stretch, but it was a good weekend," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "It was solid but not spectacular, but at least it broke the down streak."

Two top contenders at next Sunday's Academy Awards hit the $100 million mark.

The Weinstein Co. drama "The King's Speech," the best-picture front-runner, pulled in $7.9 million to lift its total to $104.6 million.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.