The Liam Neeson actioner and the biblical drama open with $30M and $26.5M respectively, ultimately pushing the animated film down to the third spot.
- Mar 3, 2014
AceShowbiz - After multiple weeks atop box office, Warner Bros.' "The Lego Movie" finally bows down to Universal's action thriller "Non-Stop" and Fox's biblical drama "Son of God". The two movies arrive at the first and second spots respectively, knocking the animated film off the throne to occupy the third place.
"Non-Stop", the movie about plane hijacking, opens in North America with a solid $30 million debut, showing that Liam Neeson hasn't lost his charm even at 61. The audience consists of 51|percent| female and 65|percent| over the age of 25. It becomes his second best opening after "Taken 2" which started with $49.5 million in 2012.
"I think the fact that audiences were ready for a suspense thriller has a lot to do with the film's success, and obviously Liam is an absolute box office draw," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. "One of the main reasons people were coming to see the film was Liam."
"Son of God" follows with approximately $26.5 million. It's a big-screen version of History's miniseries "The Bible" with the exclusion of controversial scenes featuring Satan who was played by Obama look-alike, Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni. Both this week's No 1 and No. 2 movies get A- grades from CinemaScore.
"The Lego Movie" adds an estimated $21 million this weekend. The family-oriented film has now passed the $200 million mark domestically and the $300 million mark worldwide, marking the biggest release so far this year. George Clooney's "The Monuments Men" settles one spot lower with approximately $5 million, and Kevin Costner's actioner "3 Days to Kill" rounds up the top 5 with an estimated $4.9 million.
"RoboCop" falls from the third place to the sixth position with around $4.5 million in its second weekend. Unlike the lukewarm performance in the United States, the remake starring Joel Kinnaman fares far better overseas. It collects $30 million internationally for a total $136 million. Stateside, it has earned $51.2 million for a worldwide gross of $187.2 million.
