First it was Taken, then Unknown. Now with The Grey, Liam Neeson has become the box office king of Jan/Feb.

With a clear premise and a popular actor operating within his wheelhouse, The Grey delivered upstart distributor Open Road Films their first number one debut this weekend. Meanwhile, One For the Money had an okay opening that exceeded most expectations, while Man on a Ledge was the latest mid-range Summit movie to underperform.

The Top 12 grossed an estimated $99.4 million, which is up 7.6 percent from the same time period last year.The Grey devoured an estimated $20 million this weekend. Among star Liam Neeson‘s recent action movies, The Grey opened lower than Taken‘s $24.7 million and also a tad below Unknown ($21.9 million). Those were both PG-13, featured robust marketing from their big-time distributors, and were essentially cousins of the Bourne series.

For The Grey to even come close to those movies speaks both to Mr. Neeson’s drawing power and the importance of having an interesting, easily conveyable story.

Weekend Box Office