The Grey tops box office

The Liam Neeson action film The Grey opened in first place in U.S. and Canadian cinemas, taking in $20 million for Open Road Films, the distributor founded last year by the three largest U.S. theatre chains.

One for the Money, starring Katherine Heigl, was third in its first weekend, with $11.8 million, according to researcher Hollywood.com Box Office. Man on a Ledge was fifth in its debut, with $8.3 million in sales.

This weekend also brought increased sales for a few films after the nominees for the Academy Awards were announced. The Artist, nominated for best picture, recorded a 40-per-cent rise in receipts, while sales more than doubled for The Descendants, also a best-picture contender, Hollywood.com said.

Underworld: Awakening, last weekend’s top film, fell to second, with sales of $12.5 million for Sony Corp. The movie, the fourth film in the vampire-versus-werewolf series, has taken in $45.1 million since it opened on Jan. 20.

Red Tails, from News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox, was fourth, with $10.4 million in receipts.