The unnecessary and not-really-that-enjoyable “Taken 2” broadsided all comers this weekend, grossing $50 million and virtually guaranteeing Liam Neeson will continue to have trouble with those filthy Albanians in years to come.

Olivier Megaton’s revenge sequel took in nearly twice as much as its closest competitor, last week’s topper, “Hotel Transylvania”, which settled for second place with $26.3 million. (In its second week, “Looper” landed in fourth with $12.2 million.)

The week’s other major releases were left in the dust. “Pitch Perfect” did decent but unspectacular business in its first week of wide release, earning $14.7 million and coming in third, while Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie” pulled just $11.5 million to take fifth place.

Poor Tim Burton. He finally demonstrates that he can still make a great movie if he puts his mind to it, and this is the thanks he gets …