Liam Neeson is back in vengeance mode in A Walk Among the Tombstones, out Friday. The actor has surprisingly turned into a major action star over the past few years since the unexpected success of Taken in 2008. Since then, all of Neeson’s genre pics has debuted to around $20 million or over. His previous outing, this February’s Non-Stop, opened to $28 million on its way to an impressive $91M domestic haul.
Tombstones finds Neeson as a private investigator searching for a kidnapped woman in New York City. Sounds right up his alley, doesn’t it? The picture is directed by Scott Frank in his directorial debut and he’s best known as a screenwriter for films such as Out of Sight and Minority Report. If Tombstones reaches the $28M gross of Neeson’s predecessor, it certainly wouldn’t shock me.
However, my gut tells me a premiere in the range of 2011’s Unknown seems more likely. That movie opened to nearly $22M and that seems about right for this one.
A Walk Among the Tombstones opening weekend prediction: $21.4 million
Continuing on with the Top 25 Highest Grossing Actors of All Time, we’ve arrived at Day 2 covering the thespians making up numbers 20-16. If you missed part 1 featuring nos. 25-21, you can find that here:
Franchises: The Meet the Parents, Night at the Museum and Madagascar series
Highest Grossing Picture: Meet the Fockers – $279 million
Numbers of $100M+ Earners: 11. There’s Something About Mary, Meet the Parents, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Meet the Fockers, Madagascar, Night at the Museum, Tropic Thunder, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Little Fockers, Madagascar: Europe’s Most Wanted.
Lowest Grosser: If Lucy Fell – $2.4 million
19. Emma Watson
Career Earnings: $2.6 billion
Franchises: The Harry Potter series
Highest Grossing Picture: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – $381 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 10. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, This is the End, Noah.
Lowest Grosser: The Bling Ring – $5.8 million
18. Liam Neeson
Career Earnings: $2.7 billion
Franchises: The Star Wars, Dark Knight, and Taken series. Clash of the Titans/Wrath of the Titans.
Highest Grossing Picture: Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace – $474 million
Numbers of $100M+ Earners: 7. Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, Batman Begins, Taken, Clash of the Titans, The Dark Knight Rises, Taken 2, The LEGO Movie.
Lowest Grosser: Lamb – $5,000
17. Matt Damon
Career Earnings: $2.7 billion
Franchises: The Bourne and Ocean’s series.
Highest Grossing Picture: The Bourne Ultimatum – $227 million
Numbers of $100M+ Earners: 10. Good Will Hunting, Saving Private Ryan, Ocean’s Eleven, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Ocean’s Twelve, The Departed, Ocean’s Thirteen, The Bourne Ultimatum, True Grit.
Lowest Grosser: Margaret – $46,000
16. Will Smith
Career Earnings: $2.7 billion
Franchises: The Bad Boys and Men in Black series.
Highest Grossing Picture: Independence Day – $306 million
Numbers of $100M+ Earners: 12. Independence Day, Men in Black, Enemy of the State, Wild Wild West, Men in Black II, Bad Boys II, I, Robot, Shark Tale, Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend, Hancock, MIB 3.
Lowest Grosser: Where the Day Takes You – $390,000
2008’s Taken began a new and profitable chapter in the career of Liam Neeson as a B movie action king and that trend barrels forward with Non-Stop.
The formula is simple: write a fairly absurd and mostly conventional action plot setup and let Neeson growl his way through it. The original Taken took moviegoers by surprise by showing just how effective the star could be in these roles as a total badass. Non-Stop casts Neeson as a federal air marshal who is struggling with alcoholism and depression after the death of his young daughter to cancer. If this seems like a convenient plot device for easy sympathy to the lead character – well there you have it.
On a long flight to London, Neeson begins receiving text messages that a passenger will be killed every 20 minutes unless $150 million is transferred to a bank account. The stakes get higher when it turns out that the account is registered to Neeson himself. Zoinks! This leads to everyone believing that he is the hijacker and he must prove them wrong by figuring out who the real culprit is.
Non-Stop features supporting work from Julianne Moore in a pretty thankless role as Neeson’s seatmate, “House of Cards” Corey Stull as an NYPD officer/passenger, and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o as a flight attendant. While these faces are recognizable, this is Neeson’s show all the way. He manages to allow Non-Stop to be a mostly entertaining diversion for most of its running time.
That said, as the plot rolls along, it becomes clear that no explanation of the events taking place are likely to make any real sense. And when the true culprits are revealed, the reasoning behind their actions are a bit… well, unbelievable.
Non-Stop doesn’t belong in the same solid B movie category as the first Taken. It’s more in line with that picture’s sequel and Unknown. If you don’t carry on your brain to the proceedings, there’s some fun to be had just watching Neeson do his thing. This type of nonsensical flick would actually be the perfect waste of time pic to view on a long flight… if it wasn’t about a plot to blow up a long flight.
“Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane enters the world of film for the second time with A Million Ways to Die in the West, his directorial follow-up to the smash hit Ted from two summers ago. Unlike his previous effort, MacFarlane stars this time around and he’s brought along an all-star cast including Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman, and Neil Patrick Harris.
The R rated western comedy is unlikely to match Ted numbers, which debuted to $54 million on its way to a domestic gross of $218 million. However, I still expect it to do solid business. It may seem like an odd comparison, but I see last year’s Identity Thief as a mark of what I believe West could open at. That picture made $34.5M in its opening weekend and I credit that to the goodwill audiences had for star Melissa McCarthy after Bridesmaids. In the same way – many moviegoers are simply very curious to see what MacFarlane has up his sleeve this time.
There’s plenty of competition out there as there always is around this time of year, but not a whole lot in the way of comedies. Neighbors has already made the bulk of its money and Blended with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore debuted weakly over Memorial Day weekend. Like Thief, I think West posts a low to mid 30s opening.
A Million Ways to Die in the West opening weekend prediction: $33.6 million
It’s not often that there are four pictures that have real shots at being #1 in a weekend, but we have one such weekend this time around. This list includes Need for Speed and Tyler Perry’s The Single Moms Club in their debut frames and 300: Rise of an Empire and Mr. Peabody and Sherman in their sophomore weekends.
You can find my individual prediction posts on the newcomers here:
I believe Need for Speed will appeal to enough of the Fast and Furious crowd to get it to the top while Single Moms Club will continue the trend of Perry flicks coming in slightly below expectations. Still either one could over or under perform and make it a race for number one.
Add to that the fact that Mr. Peabody and Sherman is likely to have a fairly small drop and it could be a real barnburner of a race. And there’s last weekend’s #1 300: Rise of an Empire. While I expect the sequel to fall pretty hard in weekend #2, if it doesn’t – it too could contend for the top spot. Non-Stop, in its third frame, should round out the top five.
And with that, here’s my predictions for the how it all shakes out:
1. Need for Speed
Predicted Gross: $25.3 million
2. Mr. Peabody and Sherman
Predicted Gross: $20.4 million (representing a drop of 37%)
3. 300: Rise of an Empire
Predicted Gross: $18.8 million (representing a drop of 58%)
4. Tyler Perry’s The Single Moms Club
Predicted Gross: $17.6 million
5. Non-Stop
Predicted Gross: $8.2 million (representing a drop of 48%)
Box Office Results (March 7-9)
While I did pretty well on numbers 2-5 for the weekend, I vastly underestimated the staying power of the 300 franchise with its sequel Rise of an Empire. The film took in a healthy $45 million, well above my $31.1M projection. While it was miles away from the original’s $70 million premiere, this still exceeded most prognosticator’s expectations.
The animated Mr. Peabody and Sherman opened in second with $32.2 million, just below my $33.7M estimate. This was a mid-level opening for an animated feature, but it should have solid legs in the weeks ahead.
Non-Stop took third in weekend #2 with $15.8 million – in line with $15.5M prediction while The LEGO Movie was fourth with $10.9 million, a bit below my $12.5M estimate. Rounding out the top five was Son of God, which fell hard in its second weekend to $10.3 million, under my $11.9M prediction.
As always, I’ll have final results for this coming weekend on Monday. Stay tuned!
Family audiences and action fans are the target audiences this weekend as the animated Mr. Peabody & Sherman and the sequel 300: Rise of an Empire premiere in theaters. It is likely to be a very tight race between the two pics for the #1 spot. You can find my individual prediction posts on each here:
As you’ll see, I have Peabody edging out 300, but truth be told – it could easily go either way. As for holdovers, I would expect last weekend’s champ Non-Stop to lose a little less than half its audience. On the other hand, Son of God seems like the type of movie that is frontloaded with its target audience primed to see it during weekend #1. Therefore I expect a drop of over 50%. The competition from Peabody should cause the smash hit LEGO Movie to have its biggest drop yet.
And with that, my predictions for the weekend’s top five:
1. Mr. Peabody & Sherman
Predicted Gross: $33.7 million
2. 300: Rise of an Empire
Predicted Gross: $31.1 million
3. Non-Stop
Predicted Gross: $15.5 million (representing a drop of 46%)
4. The LEGO Movie
Predicted Gross: $12.5 million (representing a drop of 39%)
5. Son of God
Predicted Gross: $11.9 million (representing a drop of 53%)
Box Office Results (February 28-March 2)
The results from this past weekend represent what I believe is my best weekend of predictin’ in the history of the blog (pat on back). Liam Neeson’s Non-Stop took top honors with $28.8 million – right in line with my $28.2M estimate. At 61, Neeson is still proving himself to be one of the most bankable action stars in the world.
Son of God was runner-up with an impressive $25.6 million, just below my $26.7M prediction. In third after three weeks at #1 was The LEGO Movie with $20.8 million – on pace with my $20.5M projection. The four spot was Kevin Costner’s 3 Days to Kill in its sophomore weekend with $4.9 million, in line with my $5.1M estimate.
The only place I went wrong was not including The Monuments Men in the top five. It took the five spot with $4.9 million. I had Robocop in fifth but it was sixth my $4.5 million (on par with my $4.6M prediction).
So kudos to me for the weekend! Let’s see if my predictions for this upcoming frame are anywhere close.
I’ll have final results on the blog a week from today.
This final weekend of February/first weekend of March could provide a real showdown at the box office between Liam Neeson’s action pic Non-Stop and the Biblical pic Son of God. Both could be poised for healthy debut weekends and you can find my detailed predictions posts on each here:
While my estimates put the newbies at spots 1 and 2 – if both underwhelm, it could open the door for a fourth week at the top spot for The Lego Movie. The rest of the top five is likely to be filled with holdover action flicks suffering pretty large drops.
And with that, my predictions for this weekend’s top five:
1. Non-Stop
Predicted Gross: $28.2 million
2. Son of God
Predicted Gross: $26.7 milion
3. The LEGO Movie
Predicted Gross: $20.5 million (representing a drop of 34%)
4. 3 Days to Kill
Predicted Gross: $5.1 million (representing a drop of 58%)
5. Robocop
Predicted Gross: $4.6 million (representing a drop of 53%)
Box Office Results (February 21-23)
As for how I did this past weekend, The LEGO Movie did hold #1 for a third frame with $31.3 million, just below my $33.7M estimate. I vastly overestimated how well the rom com About Last Night would hold up in weekend #2. The Kevin Hart flick dropped a steep 70% to $7.5 million, well below my $13.6M prediction. Furthermore, I didn’t give enough credit to Kevin Costner’s 3 Days to Kill. It debuted at second with an OK $12.2 million – well above my modest $7.7M projection. Newcomer Pompeii fared badly with a third place debut at only $10.3 million, below my $13.3M projection. In fourth was Robocop with $9.8 million, in line with $10.4M projection and rounding out the top five was The Monuments Men with $7.9M, under my $10.3M estimate.
As always, I’ll have updates on the blog’s Facebook page this weekend with final results Monday!
It was just over five years ago that Taken became a massive and unexpected hit and turned veteran actor Liam Neeson into a major action star. On Friday, we’ll see if his box office luck continues with Non-Stop. Neeson plays a federal air marshal dealing with a big ol’ crisis aboard an international flight. Julianne Moore and Oscar nominee Lupita Nyong’o costar.
Non-Stop has a rather modest $50 million budget that it should have no problem earning back and then some. Trailers for it have been pretty effective and the late February release date is good timing for action audiences hungry for something new.
Post Taken, Neeson’s star power has generated high teens to low twenties openings for Unknown and The Grey. I have an inkling that Non-Stop could go higher than that. By doing so, it should end the three week reign of The Lego Movie at #1. That’s if Son of God (the other newbie Friday) doesn’t open bigger and I’ll get to that one later today.
I don’t see Non-Stop debuting below $20 million and it wouldn’t shock me if it reached just above $30 million – but high 20s seems to be the most probable scenario.
Non-Stop opening weekend prediction: $28.2 million
Five years ago Today in Movie History – January 30 – Taken became a surprise box office smash in the U.S. with a terrific $24.7 million opening weekend on its way to a $145 million domestic gross. Building from its very effective trailer, Taken transitioned star Liam Neeson to a legitimate action hero. A sequel would follow in 2012 and a third is already in the planning stages.
As for birthdays, Gene Hackman is 84 today. He’s been nominated for five Academy Awards and won two – for Best Actor in 1971 for The French Connection and Supporting Actor in 1992 for Unforgiven. The other nominations: Bonnie & Clyde, I Never Sang for My Father, and Mississippi Burning. Mr. Hackman appeared in many notable pictures throughout his storied career before his retirement from acting in 2004. They include Downhill Racer, The Poseidon Adventure, The Conversation, Young Frankenstein, as Lex Luthor in the Superman franchise, Reds, Under Fire, Hoosiers, No Way Out, The Firm, Crimson Tide, Get Shorty, The Birdcage, Enemy of the State, and The Royal Tenenbaums.
Christian Bale is 40 today. Of course, he’s best known as the Caped Crusader/Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. He got his start as a teenager headlining Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun. His recent work with director David O. Russell resulted in a Supporting Actor Oscar win for The Fighter and a nomination for Best Actor just last week for American Hustle. And there’s his now iconic role in the 2000 cult classic American Psycho. Other noteworthy films: Shaft, The Machinist, The Prestige, 3:10 to Yuma, Terminator Salvation, Public Enemies, and Out of the Furnace.
As for Six Degrees of Separation between these two fantastic actors:
Gene Hackman was in Unforgiven with Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman was in Batman Begins with Christian Bale
In early 2009, Taken was an unexpected smash hit that gave Liam Neeson a second career as a badass action star. The film was a B-movie treat in which ex CIA agent Bryan (Neeson) used his “very particular set of skills” to retrieve kidnapped daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) from Albanian sex traffickers.
Taken‘s box office success has led to this sequel nearly four years later. Original director Pierre Morel is out and the awesomely named Olivier Megaton is behind the camera, but original screenwriters Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen return to pen the script. The concept is simple: instead of Kim being taken, this time it’s Mom – Lenore (Famke Janssen). Years after their divorce, Bryan and Lenore are starting to become a bit “taken” with each other again – if ya know what I mean. Mom and daughter join Bryan in Istanbul where he’s just finished a job and it’s not long before the father of one of the guy’s Bryan brutally offed in the original looks to exact revenge. He’s played by Rade Serbedziga, who gets to growl his way through dialogue about avenging his perv boy son’s death.
Much of Taken 2 simply feels by-the-numbers and the action isn’t as impressive as in the first. One problem is that Neeson doesn’t get to show off that particular set of skills enough. Too much of the pic is filled with lackluster car chases, though Neeson does involve Kim in the most intense driving demonstration since that high schooler drove Leslie Nielsen and John Houseman in The Naked Gun. The fact that Kim is dating her first boyfriend and taking her driving test for the third time involves some suspension of disbelief since the actress playing her is 30 years old. I’ll chalk that up to the rapid aging process due to her stressful first “vacation” in the original.
Truth be told, Taken 2 will hold your attention for its brisk 90 minutes, but this a prime example of an unnecessary sequel. The film even forecasts a potential third Taken towards the end. After all, these endless henchman Bryan is offing will always have vengeful relatives. How much “taking” can one family take? Taken 2 suggests stopping at one abduction probably would have been enough.
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