--- description: The 61-year-old Irish star's new role as an air marshal action hero helped lift Non-Stop to box office victory this weekend, blocking The LEGO Movie from another win and topping Son of God title: Liam Neeson’s Non-Stop: Bigger Than Jesus image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt316a09bd019d6b24/6986837336176001c690ab19/liam-neeson-non-stop.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Liam Neeson's _Non-Stop_: Bigger Than Jesus by [Richard Corliss](/author/richard-corliss/) ## Richard Corliss Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 2, 2014 8:23 PM CUT  Liam Neeson in a scene from "Non-Stop." Liam Neeson in a scene from "Non-Stop."Universal Pictures—AP by [Richard Corliss](/author/richard-corliss/) ## Richard Corliss Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 2, 2014 8:23 PM CUT Liam Neeson doesn’t have God as his copilot in _Non-Stop_. In fact, the copilot in the new aviation disaster movie thinks the air marshal played by Neeson is either a psycho or a cagey terrorist. But the 61-year-old Irish star doesn’t need divine intervention to attract paying customers to his action movies. Just now he’s the unrivaled deity, the one true god, of the B-movie thriller. _Non-Stop_ led a burly Oscar weekend with $30 million, according to preliminary studio estimates, followed by the New Testament remake _Son of God_, which earned $26.5 million. The two newcomers finally dethroned the [three-time champ _The LEGO Movie_](http://entertainment.time.com/2014/02/06/the-lego-movie-socialist-toys-are-just-another-brick-in-the-wall/ "undefined"), which still earned a tidy $21 million for a 24-day total of $209.3 million. The three pictures accounted for $77.4 million, or about what the top _eight_ films took in on Oscar weekend last year. Business has been up from the previous year each weekend since last Thanksgiving. **(READ:** **_The Simpsons’_** **Matt Selman on** [**the tantalizing fascism of Legoland**](http://techland.time.com/2007/12/04/the%5Ftantalizing%5Ffascism%5Fof%5Fleg/ "undefined")**)** Costing about $50 million to produce, _Non-Stop_ costars Julianne Moore as one of many suspects in the airborne whodunit and—in a role so small you truly would not notice her if you didn’t know she was in it—[Lupita Nyong’o](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,2166060,00.html "undefined"), the frontrunner tonight for Best Supporting Actress in _12 Years a Slave_. Pushing the boundaries for a PG-13 rating, this violent melodrama received a lofty A-minus rating from an audience that skewed 51% female and 65% over the age of 25\. The early patrons also had a broad ethnic range: 46% Caucasian, 27% Hispanic, 13% African-American and 9% Asian. They helped make _Non-Stop_ Neeson’s biggest action film debut except for _Taken 2_, which opened to $49.2 million in late 2012. **(READ:** [**Our review of Liam Neeson’s** **_Non-Stop_**](http://entertainment.time.com/2014/02/28/non-stop-movie-review-liam-neeson/ "undefined")**)** Say the name of producer Mark Burnett’s Biblical film to middle-age Catholics, and they’ll inadvertently start humming the chirpy folk-rock hymn “Sons of God, Hear His Holy Word,” with its sing-along chorus, “Eat His body, drink His blood,/ And we’ll live in eternal love.” (Not for nothing was “Sons of God” chosen as [one of the 10 worst hymns of all time](http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2010/07/are-these-the-ten-worst-hymns-of-all-time/ "undefined").) With hunky Portuguese TV star Diogo Morgado as the Nazarene, _Son of God_ is not really a movie at all; it’s basically a boiled-down version of the second half of last year’s highly rated 10-part History Channel series, _The Bible_. Cannily promoted to Christian groups, the theatrical version earned an impressive $4.8 million in presales. The CinemaScore was next to godly as well: A-minus, matching the rating for the Neeson film. And unlike secular movies, _Son of God_ could get a Sunday spike in business. While infidels are glued to their TVs tonight for the Oscar show, the faithful may make a pilgrimage to the multiplex. **(READ:** [**The coming flood of Biblical movies**](http://entertainment.time.com/2014/02/28/son-of-god-religious-movies-2014/ "undefined")**)** For a Messiah movie, $26.4 million is swell, but it’s not Mel. Exactly 10 years ago, [Mel Gibson’s _The Passion of the Christ_](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,993485,00.html "undefined") registered one of the most impressive openings since Lazarus’s tomb. Premiering on a Wednesday, the movie earned $41.3 million ($55.5 million in today’s dollars) in its first two days and another $83.8 million ($112.7 million today) for a five-day total of $125.2 million ($168.3 million). Made for a thrifty $30 million, the Gibson _Passion_ ended up with $611.9 million worldwide, or $822 million today — a fabulous return on investment. Recall too that the dialogue was spoken in two dead languages, Aramaic and Roman; _the Christ_ also became the top-grossing foreign-language subtitled film of all time. **(READ:** [**Why tonight’s Oscars will be like the Independent Spirit Awards**](http://entertainment.time.com/2014/03/02/call-it-the-independent-oscar-awards/ "undefined")**)** Of the nine movies that are finalists for tonight’s Best Picture Oscar, five—[_American Hustle_](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/12/05/american-hustle-sex-scandal-and-flat-out-fun/ "undefined"), [_The Wolf of Wall Street_](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/12/27/the-wolf-of-wall-street-scorsese-and-dicaprio-fall-for-the-big-con/ "undefined"), [_Philomena_](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/11/19/judi-dench-in-philomena-the-mom-who-never-gave-up/ "undefined"), [_12 Years a Slave_](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/10/18/12-years-a-slave-an-unflinching-take-on-the-great-american-shame/ "undefined") and [_Gravity_](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/10/03/gravity-the-glory-of-cinemas-future/ "undefined")—finished between 11th and 20th place. So did the Oscar nominees [_The Wind Rises_](http://entertainment.time.com/2014/02/20/the-wind-rises-review-hayao-miyazaki/ "undefined") (Animated Feature) and [_Lone Survivor_](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/12/25/lone-survivor/ "undefined") (Sound Editing and Sound Mixing). [_Frozen_](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/11/23/frozen-this-disney-princess-movie-is-thaw-some/ "undefined"), which will undoubtedly win Animated Feature as well as Best Song, remained in the top 10 for the 14th straight week, and today crossed the $1-billion mark in worldwide ticket sales. The domestic and global audience just won’t let it go. **(READ: Lily Rothman on** [**_Frozen’_** **s hot following**](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,2165477,00.html "undefined")**)** Weird Release Department: The makers of _Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues_ recut the whole movie and put it in theaters as a longer R-rated mashup, promising [44 minutes of previously unshown material and “763 new jokes.”](http://entertainment.time.com/2014/02/21/anchorman-2-will-ferrell-returns/ "undefined") The update — call it _Anchorman 2: The Funny Version_ — earned a meager $1.3 million in 1,300 theaters. Comedy is hard. **(READ: Our** [**review of** **_Anchorman 2: The First Version_**](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/12/18/anchorman-2-a-modest-white-burgundy/ "undefined")**)** Tragedy is Harder Department: This weekend also saw the release of _Stalingrad_, Fedor Bondarchuk’s epic view of the five-month siege by Hitler’s soldiers of the Soviet city, in the 1942-43 battle that changed World War II to the Allies’ advantage. Shown in 3-D and IMAX, the movie earned $500,000 in 308 theaters. But what must have been the thoughts of audiences, on the same weekend that [Putin’s soldiers invaded Ukraine](http://world.time.com/2014/03/02/ukraine-mobilizes-troops-for-war/ "undefined"), for a confrontation that could have perilous geopolitical consequences? Ukraine, Europe and the United States faces a dreadful scenario that may be beyond the reach of the Almighty, or even Liam Neeson. Here are the Sunday estimates of this weekend’s top-grossing pictures in North American theaters, as reported by [Box Office Mojo](http://www.boxofficemojo.com/ "undefined"): 1\. _Non-Stop_, $30 million, first weekend 2\. _Son of God_, $26.5 million, first weekend 3\. _The LEGO Movie_, $21 million; $209.3 million, fourth week 4\. _The Monuments Men_, $5 million; $65.7 million, fourth week 5\. _3 Days to Kill_, $4.9 million; $20.7 million, second week 6\. _RoboCop_, $4.5 million; $51.2 million third week 7\. _Pompeii_, $4.3 million; $17.7 million, second week 8\. _Frozen_, $3.6 million; $388.7 million, 15th week 9\. _About Last Night_, $3.4 million; $43.75 million, third week 10\. _Ride Along_, $3.1 million; $127.2 million, seventh week ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/11156/liam-neeson-non-stop-review/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/11156/liam-neeson-non-stop-review/"},"headline":"Liam Neeson's Non-Stop: Bigger Than Jesus","datePublished":"2014-03-02T20:23:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:31:53.227Z","description":"The 61-year-old Irish star's new role as an air marshal action hero helped lift Non-Stop to box office victory this weekend, blocking The LEGO Movie from another win and topping Son of God","url":"https://time.com/11156/liam-neeson-non-stop-review/","keywords":["Box-office","liam neeson"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt316a09bd019d6b24/6986837336176001c690ab19/liam-neeson-non-stop.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Richard Corliss","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/richard-corliss/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt316a09bd019d6b24/6986837336176001c690ab19/liam-neeson-non-stop.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Film Review Non-Stop","caption":"Liam Neeson in a scene from \"Non-Stop.\"","creditText":"Universal Pictures—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/11156/liam-neeson-non-stop-review/","name":"Liam Neeson's Non-Stop: Bigger Than Jesus"}}]}] ```