We are in the time of year when most studios have a cinematic garage sale. From January to March they release the films that they don’t have faith in or that they essentially think sucks…
With that being said, Universal released their latest Liam Neeson saves-his-family-or-the-world-flick, Non-Stop. Non-Stop has an estimated production budget of $50 million dollars. This past opening weekend the film had a $30 million dollar debut, ensuring that Universal executives can continue popping champagne bottles. It bettered the Son of God, a historical biopic on Jesus Christ, which pulled in an estimated $26.5 million dollars. Son of God utilized an interesting low-key marketing strategy which focused on church groups as well as translated the film into multiple languages for its initial release. The Lego Movie is still going strong pulling in $21 million dollars in its fourth week of release. The Lego Movie is the first film to cross the $200 million mark in 2014, solidifying it’s status as a smash hit. Robocop fell out of the top five pulling in a paltry $4.5 million in its third week of release. However it was bolstered by international sales bolstered by an over $20 million opening weekend in China, which gives a lifeline to the future of the franchise for those in hope of a sequel. Here is the 2/29-3/2 weekend box office totals:
| RANK | MOVIE | WEEKLY GROSS | GROSS TO DATE | WEEKS IN RELEASE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Universal Pictures |
$30.0M | $30.0M | 1 | |
| 2 |
20th Century Fox |
$26.5M | $26.5M | 1 | |
| 3 |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
$21.0M | $209.3M | 4 | |
| 4 |
Sony Pictures |
$5.0M | $65.7M | 4 | |
| 5 |
Relativity Media |
$4.9M | $20.7M | 2 | |
| 6 |
Orion Pictures Corporation |
$4.5M | $51.2M | 3 | |
| 7 |
Sony Pictures |
$4.3M | $17.7M | 2 | |
| 8 |
Walt Disney Pictures |
$3.6M | $388.7M | 15 | |
| 9 |
Sony Pictures |
$3.4M | $43.8M | 3 | |
| 10 |
Universal Pictures |
$3.1M | $127.2M | 7 |
Yes, since Neeson appears in both The Lego Movie and Non-Stop. What’s the moral of the story? To be just like Liam when you grow up!
Til next week!!!
Braxter Timberlake