Liam Neeson’s ‘Taken 2’ managed to narrowly beat Ben Affleck’s ‘Argo’ during the Iranian thriller’s opening weekend.

US Box office estimates put the 20th Century Fox sequel, starring Neeson, in first place with $22.5 million during its second weekend.

Affleck’s Iranian thriller opened in second place with $20.1 million. Starring Affleck, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, and Bryan Cranston, there is already an Oscar buzz around the political thriller set in Iran in 1979. The film cost Warner Brothers and GK Films about $44 million to make.

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‘Sinister’, the Summit horror film starring Ethan Hawke debuted in third place with $18.3 million.

Despite being described as a watered-down rehash of the original ‘Taken’, Liam Neeson’s follow up action movie still came out on top.

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"It kind of proves that reviews do not matter," said Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com. "Audiences just continue to eat this up. They just love Liam Neeson in this role."

Watch the Argo trailer below: