When 2017 started, this year has been very good to Liam Neeson. Both the original Taken and its sequel Taken 3 came out in the first month of their particular years, and both were certified box office hits, with Taken pulled in an impressive $145 million in its full domestic debut. Neeson's 2012 survival perusal The Grey also bowed in January and though it wasn't a success as Taken, it still did a decent $51 million revenue. Neeson also provided voice acting for the January release The Nut Job which hits $64 million at the box office.
Liam Neeson Unwavering January Luck And Upcoming Movie
It might be an exaggeration to say that Neeson is the King of January, but there's no doubt that all his movies have done well. In an early-year movie release, he might get a hiccup every year. Lionsgate is hoping the Neeson January effect is not just a "stroke of luck" as they have decided to move one of his upcoming films into that hole-in-the-wall.
According to Deadline, Neeson's planned October 2017 release The Commuter has now been pushed back to January 12th, 2018. Co-starring Vera Farmiga, the movie is labeled as a thriller with Hitchcockian elements evocative of Strangers on a Train and North By Northwest. The film cast with pop stars Patrick Wilson, Sam Neill, Elizabeth McGovern and Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul fan favorite Jonathan Banks. Action veteran movie creator Jaume Collet-Serra directed the movie and this will be his fourth time working with Neeson.
Moving The Commuter Overview
Neeson plays the title character, an insurance salesman who finds himself in the middle of a risky game after a mysterious guest contacts him on a train. The plot about a regular guy who unsuspectingly becomes a player in a life-or-death setup that echoes of Hitchcock's North By Northwest. Neeson himself has often forced to play the deadly games, though the actor usually is not just a regular guy as what you think, but one (like Taken) with a set of skills. Cool, isn't it?
Moving The Commuter off of its planned release date on October 13 may have been a case of Lionsgate trying to protect the film from the competition. That alone will be busy for action films with Blade Runner 2049 and Kingsman: The Golden Circle in their second weekends, and Michael Fassbender's Universal thriller Snowman coming out.
Airing a Neeson action-thriller movie in January at this point feels about as ordinary as releasing a Star Wars movie at Christmas or an Avengers movie in May. Neeson's brand name recognition means The Commuter has a decent chance to fire up and gain revenue against the weak early-year competition. If you like watching Neeson in action movies you might tell him to pause a bit and think of it, as he has said he plans to retire from the genre soon.
