LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- "Taken 3" took over the first place from "The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies", the three times champion, and led the North American weekend box office with an estimated debut of 40.4 million U.S. dollars.
Starred by British actor Liam Neeson, "Taken 3" opened at 3,594 locations in the U.S. and Canada, 18 percent less than "Taken 2"'s 49 million dollars start in 2012.
"Taken 3", which cost about 48 million dollars, was financed by French writer-producer Luc Besson's EuropaCorp and distributed by 20th Century Fox.
An estimated 64 percent of moviegoers were aged 25 or above, and 54 percent were male. The film earned a B-plus rating from audience polling firm CinemaScore.
Paramount's "Selma" ranked second with an estimated 11.2 million dollars at 2,179 locations. "Selma" follows the real story of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965 as he organized and lead a march from Selma.
An estimated 43 percent of "Selma" moviegoers were African Americans, and 40 percent were whites. Female were up to 61 percent.
"Selma" earned an A-plus on CinemaScore.
Directed by Rob Marshall, Disney's musical "Into the Woods" got 9.8 million dollars in its third weekend. "Into the Woods" has earned 105.3 million dollars since it released.
"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" fell to fourth after holding the top spot for three weeks in a row.