In recent years, action star Liam Neeson has had the run of the box office in the winter months, something he'll be looking to do again this weekend with "The Grey," an R-rated thriller set to compete with "Man on a Ledge" for the top box office slot. Aiming at a slightly different demographic will be Katherine Heigl's action-comedy "One for the Money," though minimal buzz and a limited marketing campaign should make it difficult to find much commercial success. Fresh off of a slew of Oscar nominations, George Clooney's "The Descendants" will be expanding to 900 theaters this weekend as it looks to make one more run with art house audiences around the country.
Before 2009, Liam Neeson was mostly in supporting action roles or art house flicks, but the enormous success of "Taken" turned him into a leading man with major pull with action audiences. Neeson's February 2011 release "Unknown" was another major commercial hit, netting $130 million worldwide with a production budget of only $30 million - very good numbers for one of the toughest release times of the year. Neeson will star in a bevy of other action movies throughout the year, including "Wrath of the Titans," "Battleship" and "Taken 2."
With Neeson stepping back in for another tough guy role, "The Grey" will be looking to scoop up adult audiences this week, though it won't have the same advantages as PG-13 "Taken." "The Grey" also has a slew of thriller competition, which could limit its overall box office potential. Look for "The Grey" to post a decent but unspectacular opening total in the $15 to $18 million range, which should be enough to top the box office.
Aiming at a similar audience will be Summit's "Man on a Ledge," starring Ed Harris and Sam Worthington. But unlike "The Grey," "Man on a Ledge" has been bludgeoned by critics in early screenings and it doesn't seem that Summit is bringing out "Man on a Ledge" with a very aggressive release. Due to a plethora of other options, "Man on a Ledge" shouldn't do much better than $11 or $12 million this weekend.
Hitting an estimated 2,700 theaters this weekend is the third wide release, action-comedy "One for the Money." "One for the Money" hits theaters mostly in obscurity and it's going to be difficult to pull action audiences away from "The Grey" and "Man on a Ledge," not to mention older releases like "Haywire" and "Contraband." Even with a known actress like Katherine Heigl leading the cast, "One for the Money" looks like a very difficult sell this weekend and it might not even land in the top five.
After a decent run in theaters already this winter, art house favorite "The Descendants" is getting a wider release this week after getting nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Best Picture nominations usually give a boost to a film's box office numbers, and the same should hold true for "The Descendants" as well. Expanding to 900 theaters, "The Descendants" should be able to slide back into the top ten and add $10 to $15 million to its already decent U.S. box office total.
The weekend should also be the first since mid-December that "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" won't land in the top ten following six straight weekends as one of the top draws around the entire world. "Ghost Protocol" was a hit with action audiences right from the get-go, helping it rack up $539 million around the globe and pushing its domestic total to nearly $200 million as it heads into its seventh weekend.
Next weekend, we'll get a few new releases aimed at different audiences, from the Daniel Radcliffe-starring horror-thriller "The Woman in Black" to superpower drama "Chronicle." Also hitting theaters in wide release is "Big Miracle," an inspirational drama starring John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore. Coming up on the release schedule is a series of thrillers as well as the February 10th re-release of "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace," as George Lucas begins to unveil his "Star Wars" saga in 3D.
RTT Box Office Predictions for 1/27/12 - 1/29/12 (In Millions):
1. The Grey (Open Road Films): $16
2. Man on a Ledge (Summit): $11.5
3. Underworld Awakening (Screen Gems): $11
4. Red Tails (Fox): $10.50
5. One for the Money (Lionsgate): $7.5
6. Contraband (Universal): $6.3
7. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Warner Brothers): $5.3
8. Haywire (Relativity): $5
9. Beauty and the Beast 3D (Buena Vista): $4.8
10. The Descendants (Fox Searchlight): $4.1
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.