As Hollywood prepares to honor the best films of 2013 with the Academy Awards on Sunday, two new wide releases look to knock down The Lego Movie [LEGO] from the top spot. Liam Neeson [LNEES] is back in action hero mode with Non-Stop [NONST]. The PG-13 rated thriller has a simple, but exciting hook about a mysterious airline hijacker killing in-flight passengers one by one. Universal has ran an effective campaign that should entice fans of Neeson’s two Taken films, which opened to $24.7 million and $49.5 million respectively. Taking off in 3090 theaters, Non-Stop is likely to land with $27 million.
Fox appeals to devote Christians with the faith-based drama Son of God [SOGOD], edited down from "The Bible" miniseries which aired on The History Channel last year. While many in the target audience have already seen the Jesus story on television, some will be driven by church groups to support the PG-13 rated film in masses. Advance ticket sales have already bought in more than $4 million. For the weekend, Son of God may collect $21 million from 3258 locations.
The Lego Movie should add another $20 million and cross the $200 million mark in its fourth weekend at the box office.
Among the sophomore releases, 3 Days to Kill [3DTKL] may drop 50% to $6 million, while Pompeii [PMPEI] could tumble more than 55% to $4.5 million.
That’s the whisper from the virtual trading floor.
Reminder: Take your final positions on this year's Oscar nominees in the top 8 categories. The AwardOptions will halt trading on Sunday at 1 p.m. Pacific Time.
Tag(s): LEGO, LNEES, NONST, SOGOD, 3DTKL, PMPEI