America can relax. Its long national nightmare period in which Liam Neeson failed to punch anyone or anything is over for now. Yes, The Grey, which finds Neeson and a group of other oil rig workers surviving an air crach in harsh Alaskan wilderness only to face down a pack of hungry, hunt-happy wolves, stalked to the top of the US box office this weekend, earning $20 million.
Last week's champ, Underworld: Awakening, still held strong, seeing off other new competitors to take second place and $12.5 million. Katherine Heigl's latest, Janet Evanovich adaptation One For The Money, had to be content with third despite a strong Friday showing, and made $11.7 million. George Lucas' Red Tails was fourth with $10.4 million and new arrival Man On A Ledge was a little lower than everyone had hoped, with the thriller launching in fifth with $8.3 million.
Stephen Daldry's 9/11-influenced drama Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close jumped a couple of places, likely helped by taking a Best Picture Oscar nomination, and earned $7.1 million. That put it ahead of fellow Best Picture nom The Descendants, which took $6.5 million after adding 1,441 cinemas and jumping up the charts from 16. At eighth we find Contraband which also made $6.5 million, while Beauty And The Beast's 3D re-release was ninth with $5.3 million. Rounding out the top 10 is Haywire, which made $4 million.
To hit wolves and run in the snowy charts, head over to Box Office Mojo.