There were two major surprises for the first big box office weekend of 2015. The first big surprise was that Taken 3 scored the second-highest January opening ever. For people who constantly lament the fact that going to the movies is on a downswing, just look at the fact that the third movie in the Taken series, and possibly the worst of the three, made $40.4 million in January.
The second big surprise is that Oscar contender Selma roared to life as it extended to 2,200 more theaters and brought in $11.2 million, a very nice number for a January prestige release. I’ve read complaints that this was half the box office that The Butler brought in during its opening weekend, but The Butler came out in August, when people are flooding the theaters. Selma‘s total for a January is pretty nice.
Here is a look at the total weekend box office report.
Weekend Box Office
| Position | Title | Weekend | Total |
| 1 | Taken 3 | $40.4M | $40.4M |
| 2 | Selma (24) | $11.2 | $13.4 |
| 3 | Into the Woods (2) | $9.7 | $105.2 |
| 4 | The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies (1) | $9.4 | $236.5 |
| 5 | Unbroken (3) | $8.3 | $101.6 |
| 6 | The Imitation Game (7) | $7.6 | $40.8 |
| 7 | Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (5) | $6.7 | $99.5 |
| 8 | Annie (6) | $4.9 | $79.4 |
| 9 | The Woman in the Room: Angel of Death (4) | $4.8 | $22.3 |
| 10 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (8) | $3.7 | $329.5 |
Weekend box office estimates courtesy of Box Office Mojo