FEB 28 - MAR 02 BOX OFFICE REPORT: NON-STOP TO THE TOP

That was the look on old Jesus' face when Co. Antrim's very own God Almighty beat him to the top of the U.S. box office over the weekend. Liam Neeson's Non-Stop bagged an impressive $28.9 million Friday-Sunday, which is a marked improvement over recent Neeson vehicles Unknown and The Grey. Christian TV-movie repurposed as cinema spectacle Son of God was the second-highest new entry, and even looked like stealing first place away from Non-Stop had Sunday grosses been stronger - $25.6 million was good for second, though. This means that The LEGO Movie, hurtling past $200 million domestic, finally fell off No. 1, dropping to third with $20.8 million; its weekend-on-weekend declines have thus far never exceeded 37%. Such strong holds were not in evidence for last weekend's two newcomers, 3 Days to Kill ($5 million, -59.6% to fourth) and Pompeii ($4.3 million, -58.1% to seventh), though an even more popular animation than LEGO fared best of all within the Top 10: Frozen now looks set for over $400 million from the U.S. alone, holding in eighth place in its 15th weekend. An R-rated extended cut of Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues couldn't attract much interest, charting in 14th, though an expansion for the English-language dub of The Wind Rises made it one place higher, with $1.5 million. Oscar nominees (and now, in some cases, winners) mostly received boosts to theatre counts - only Captain Phillips, Gravity and Her did not - and all received boosts to grosses on last weekend, save Nebraska. Indian film The Lunchbox and John Cusack thriller The Bag Man both averaged over $14.5k per-theatre in very limited openings, Russian IMAX release Stalingrad flopped with just over $500k, and animated film Ernest & Celestine opened in just the one cinema, and placed 63rd overall.

Top 10

1. Non-Stop ($28,875,635)
2. Son of God ($25,601,865)
3. The LEGO Movie ($20,828,356)
4. 3 Days to Kill ($4,950,813)
5. The Monuments Men ($4,940,198)
6. RoboCop ($4,508,609)
7. Pompeii ($4,331,431)
8. Frozen ($3,631,640)
9. About Last Night ($3,383,253)
10. Ride Along ($3,037,680)