Weekend Estimates: Non-Stop Tops Son of God on Oscar Weekend

March 2, 2014

Non-Stop poster

Even with awards shows dominating industry headlines this weekend, three movies, none of which are nominated for anything, will manage to top $20 million at the box office. Top of the pile will be Liam Neeson actioner Non-Stop, which will debut with a shade over $30 million. That's the best performance for a non-sequel movie Neeson has headlined. Not far behind, Son of God is projected to earn around $26.5 million this weekend, and Fox is projecting it to top the chart on Sunday. The third movie topping $20 million will be The LEGO Movie, which passes $200 million in the process in its 4th weekend in release.

Among returning movies, the Oscars are playing a big role in determining moviegoers' viewing preferences this weekend. If one is looking for a sign of the favorite for Best Picture, 12 Years a Slave is having the best weekend relative to the other nominees, with Fox projecting it will be up 72% to $900,000 in its 20th weekend in release. In comparison, Dallas Buyers Club will be up 44%, American Hustle up 11%, Her up 5%, Gravity up 3% (although its hard to imagine many people interested in the Oscars haven't seen it yet), and Philomena up 2%.

Of course, for a much more complete picture of prospects for Oscar recognition, join us shortly after noon for our predictions, based on the results of our Oscar Contest.

Several films are enjoying good weeks in limited release, led by The Lunchbox, with $51,000 or so in 3 theaters. Oscar longshot Ernest & Celestine will debut with around $15,600 in a single theater, and The Bag Man starts out with an estimated $28,449 in two theaters.

- Weekend Estimates

Bruce Nash

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Ernest et Celestine, American Hustle, Her, The Lunchbox, The Bag Man, Son of God, Liam Neeson