According to the Associated Press, viewers paid $50 million this weekend to see “Taken 2” despite critics’ low grades. Liam Neeson managed to double the sequel’s cashing as “Taken” gathered only $24.7 million in its 2009 debut.

Critics were not attracted by Liam Neeson’s sequel “Taken 2” and they all estimated that the movie will draw small groups of viewers. The recent box office statistics, however, demolished everyone’s expectations as the motion picture went straight to number 1 with a whopping premiere cashing of $50 million.

Whether it was Liam Neeson’s charm or the success of the first film, one thing is for sure: film goers liked “Taken 2” even more than they liked the first action movie. The actor gets back into the shoes of the retired CIA agent to take down the rest of the gang of thugs who kidnap his family to revenge their dead relatives. Given the success that the sequel registered in its debut weekend, producers expect Neeson to exceed the $145 million revenue he obtained with “Taken”.

The Academy Award-nominated star has had a slightly different evolution in comparison with the rest of the actors in Hollywood. The “Schindler’s List” star became an action hero in his 50s, as opposed to the rest of the actors who usually take part in action stuff when they are younger and later on, become more introspective. Paul Dergarabedian, a box office analyst, thinks Neeson is a good example for ageing actors. In his opinion, Liam managed to successfully turn this tendency around, so he will probably be “kicking even more butt” when he turns 80.

“Taken 2” was just as popular among international theaters as it was in the United States. The sequel added $55 million from sales across 50 countries raising the worldwide total to $117 million. The film has, thus, managed to overtake last week’s number 1 preference, Adam Sandler’s “Hotel Transylvania” which gathered only $26.3 million this week.