'Non-Stop' lands at No. 1 at weekend box office

Liam Neeson thriller ousts 'Lego Movie' at top

Diogo Morgado in a scene from 'Son of God.'

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Liam Neeson in a scene from 'Non-Stop.'

LOS ANGELES — Liam Neeson has grounded The Lego Movie.

The action star’s airliner thriller Non-Stop arrived in first place at the weekend box office, effectively ending the Warner Bros. animated film’s three-week blockade at the top spot. The Universal film stars Neeson as a federal air marshal on a doomed flight. Non-Stop ascended in its first weekend with $30 million domestically and $20 million internationally, according to studio estimates Sunday.

“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.”

Fox’s Son of God debuted closely behind Non-Stop in second place with $26.5 million domestically. The film recounts the story of Jesus’ life using footage from the production of History Channel’s 10-part miniseries The Bible. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box-office tracker Rentrak, noted it was a strong showing because box office predictions for Son of God were wildly varied.

Diogo Morgado in a scene from 'Son of God.'

“It’s difficult to track religious- and faith-based films, as we learned with ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ “ Dergarabedian said. “If the expectation is that Hollywood should make more movies like this, then the audiences who want these movies have to vote with their dollars. It’s only then that Hollywood will wake up and see this as a viable genre that people will want to see.”

Son of God, which features Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado in the role of Jesus, is the first of several religious-themed films set for release this year, including next month’s Noah starring Russell Crowe and Exodus with Christian Bale planned for December.

The Lego Movie, which features the voices of Chris Pratt and Elizabeth Banks as characters from the block-building toy franchise, came in third place with $21 million in its third weekend, bringing its total domestic haul to $209.3 million. Lego Movie also earned $21 million from 52 international territories.

A few contenders up for Oscars at Sunday’s 86th annual Academy Awards received a boost at the box office. Dergarabedian said the box office for 12 Years a Slave was up 72 percent and for Dallas Buyers Club was up 44 percent over last weekend. Both films are vying for the best-picture trophy at the Oscars, as well as several other honors.