Will “Son of God” be this weekend’s #1 movie at the box office?

Maybe: 

Universal’s Non-Stop, starring Liam Neeson, surged ahead to take the lead in the weekend box office, snagging the spot from The Lego Movie, according to Forbes.

Along with Neeson, the film stars Julianna Moore and 12 Years a Slave’s Oscar-nominated Lupita Nyong’o.  The action thriller is set to bring in around $30 million over the course of this weekend.  The Los Angeles Times reported that the action-packed film is expected to bring in $20 million over the course of the weekend. 

20th Century Fox’s biblical film Son of God took the second spot and brought in $9.4 million.  According to Forbes, half of that money ($4.5 million) was earned from advanced ticket sales made before the weekend.  The film’s advertising was targeted more specifically at the religious movie-going market.  Son of God was developed from the History Channel’s hit television miniseries, The Bible.  According toThe Los Angeles Times, churches and religious organizations have helped build hype and earnings for the film by renting out theaters and buying bulk amounts of tickets.  The movie could possibly pass up Non-Stop for the top spot this weekend, and it is expected to break even (it cost $22 million to make).

“It feels like around $12 million, maybe $15 million,” said Chris Aronson, head of distribution at Fox in regards to Son of God’s possible box office success.  ”But honestly, because of the faith-based element, we just don’t know, so it wouldn’t shock me if it did $25 million.”