Neeson action thriller takes number one spot at box office
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Universal’s Liam Neeson-starrer “Non-Stop” looks to be unstoppable this Oscar weekend reports Variety.com.
With an expected $30 million weekend bow, the action-thriller is on track to crumble Warner Bros.-Village Roadshow’s “The Lego Movie.” Neeson is up against himself at the box office as he voiced Bad Cop/Good Cop/Pa Cop in “Lego.”
Aside from breaking the toon’s three-week winning streak, the pic is also stopping Fox’s “Son of God” in its tracks. “Non-Stop” took $10 million Friday, while “Son of God” secured $9.4 million, putting it on track for $25 million. “Lego,” on the other hand, earned $4.4 million (down about 39%). This will likely raise its total domestic box office to $192.7 million.
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The win, which exceeds already high expectations, further solidifies Neeson’s status as a bona fide box office draw. “Non-Stop” (budgeted at $50 million) flew above the box office gross of “Taken,” the film that reinvigorated his action career. The first movie made $24 million in 2009 over Super Bowl weekend and went on to gross $145 million domestically. Its sequel opened to more than double that amount, $49 million, in 2012, but finished with a bit less Stateside at $140 million.
However, “Non-Stop” — produced and financed by StudioCanal and Joel Silver — is not flying in friendly skies; “Son of God” is hot on its trail. Christopher Spencer’s look at the life of Jesus could be looking at near-eternal life in the coming weeks as church groups and other religious institutions are buying tickets in bulk to organize group outings and theater take-overs. In fact, Colorado’s Compassion International bought tickets for churches in 40 cities across the nation. This trend could rise next month leading up to Easter Sunday on April 20.
The faith-based pic opened to a joyful $1.2 million Thursday night, overtaking “Non-Stop”s $720,000. Producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey have aggressively promoted the project, which is based on their five-part miniseries “The Bible.” The show was ratings gold for the History Channel last March.
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In their second weekend, Relativity’s “3 Days to Kill” and Sony’s “Pompeii” are expected to fall behind another Sony pic, “Monuments Men.” “3 Days” will likely gross $4.8 million by Sunday, which would bring its total to $20.6 million, while “Pompeii” could reel in $3.9. “Monuments” is inching past both, en route to nabbing fourth place with $5 million.
While “3 Days” seems to be locked in at fifth, Sony-MGM’s “RoboCop” will likely beat out “Pompeii” for the sixth slot. “About Last Night,” “Ride Along” and “Frozen” should round out the top 10.