William John Neeson was born June 7th, 1952 in Northern Ireland. In 1981 he made his debut in Excalibur with a very small part, and 12 years later he won the role of Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List which put him firmly on the map.

He’s had important roles in many of his films but very rarely played the lead. That changed in 2009 with Taken, a movie that turned him from a mentor that often died (*SPOILERS* Batman Begins, Gangs of New York, Kingdom of Heaven, Star Wars) to a bonafide badass in subsequent films such Unknown, The A-Team, and now in The Grey and the upcoming Taken sequel, although he is going back to mentor mode in Battleship this year.

Today we take a look at Liam Neeson’s top 10 biggest box office hits in North America, unadjusted.

I’ll start with a bit of a disclaimer first, after a long debate between me and myself, I’ve decided to include the first film in the Chronicles of Narnia series where Liam Neeson voices the lion Aslan (even though Box Office Mojo won’t). The subsequent movies won’t be featured here because his part in them became much shorter.

10. Unknown (2011) $63.6 million – An engaging thriller about a man that loses his identity after a car accident. So what do you do when not even your wife recognizes you? Well, to find out you have to watch Unknown and trust me, it’s not a waste of time.

9. The A-Team (2010) $77.2 million – A fun action flick based on the popular 80′s hit TV series. It’s a bit light on brain cells but definitely makes up for that with great action set pieces. Don’t listen to the haters out there, give it a try, there’s nothing wrong with some brainless fun now and again.

8. Gangs of New York (2002) $77.8 million – Martin Scorsese’s epic about the gang wars in 19th century New York. Liam Neeson plays Leonardo DiCaprio’s dad in the film, a short yet pivotal part. I said it before, I’ll say it again, Gangs of New York is a must see.

7. The Haunting (1999) $91.4 million – I remember being so hyped for this back in 1999, although I can’t remember exactly why. Probably a combination of the previews and the general premise of the film. If The Grey is Liam Neeson against wolves, The Haunting was him against ghosts, with a twist thrown for good measure.

6. Schindler’s List (1993) $96 million – The story of a true superhero for over 1100 people and winner of 7 Oscars in 1994 including Best Picture and Best Director for Steven Spielberg. Liam Neeson had to settle for a nomination only. Schindler’s List is not an easy film to watch but if you can (and you should), it’s definitely worth every second of those 3 hours and 15 minutes.

5. Taken (2009) $145 million – One of the great action flicks of the last few years, for me at least, up there with the likes of Casino Royale and The Bourne Ultimatum. After grossing little over $80 million internationally over the course of 2008, the film finally opened in the US in January 2009. By that time it was already available on Blu-ray and DVD in many countries around the world yet Taken opened with $24.7 million during the Super Bowl Weekend and went on to gross $145 million, becoming one of the biggest surprise hits of that year. In October Fox will release a completely unnecessary sequel that I’ll probably end up watching opening night.

4. Clash of the Titans (2010) $163.2 million – Liam Neeson makes for a great Zeus here but everything else is just average at best. Suffice to say, in March I won’t be catching Wrath of the Titans on opening night.

3. Batman Begins (2005) $2005.3 million – How awesome was Liam Neeson here, right? Now this is obviously a fantastic movie, my favorite of the Nolan Batman flicks actually and having Liam Neeson return in The Dark Knight Rises makes me scream like a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert.

2. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) $291.7 million – So Aslan being a metaphor for God here, there’s no surprise that Liam Neeson’s deep gravelly voice was a perfect fit. Based on C. S. Lewis’ famous children novel, the movie became a massive success for Disney but none of the sequels that followed managed to recreate the same magic or box office numbers. It’s a great family movie, a must have in any DVD or Blu-ray collection.

1. Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace (1999) $431 million – The film Star Wars fans love to hate. I was 12 when I saw this in theaters and at the time I can say that I enjoyed myself, it was a good time at the movies. Today I can see why some hate The Phantom Menace so much (Jar Jar, you devil you) but I personally still can’t join their ranks. I can’t help myself, it might not be a great movie but it’s certainly not a bad one either, for me at least.

Finally a movie that didn’t make this top 10 but certainly would make my personal one, Kingdom of Heaven. A great movie even thought Liam Neeson had a rather short part. Then there’s also Love Actually, great date movie, definitely one his best. Also he was rather badass in Sam Raimi’s Darkman way back in 1990. So what’s your favorite Liam Neeson film?

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In what could be the final movie in The Chronicles of Narnia series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader brings the same epic scale we’ve come to expect from the first two movies and provides a satisfying (possible) conclusion to the film series based on C.S. Lewis’ classic novels.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was always my favorite book of the series, so it stands to reason I was more optimistic about this film than the ones that came before it. To be clear, I’m a fan of both previous movies - Prince Caspian more so than The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Director Andrew Adamson is replaced by former James Bond director Michael Apted (The World is Not Enough), and Apted doesn’t skip a beat making this feel right at home in the Narnia series. The tone, visual style, and effects are a perfect fit with the rest of the movies, and though the story is incredibly derivative from seemingly every fantasy story ever told, I still think this is my favorite among the three movies.

This story follows the younger Pevensie siblings Edmund (Skander Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) while they’re stationed in England during WWII. Their older brother and sister have been shipped off to America, but the former King and Queen of Narnia must stay behind, living with their insufferable cousin Eustace (Will Poulter) until they can travel stateside safely. When all three of them are suddenly consumed by the waves of a strange painting hanging in their home, they surface in Narnia, where King Caspian (Ben Barnes) is leading a ship called The Dawn Treader to find seven lost lords as an all-consuming darkness sweeps the land.

Apted does a fantastic job of translating this story to the big screen, and the addition of 3D fits pretty well in this world. Excusing some focus issues and slight blurriness at times, the 3D was well-executed and didn’t distract from the story or feel like a cash grab. The visual effects were surprisingly impressive, from the opening painting scene featured in the trailers to the sweeping vistas of the magical land in which the story takes place. Make no mistake, this is no How To Train Your Dragon – but it’s solid 3D in a movie climate that seems content with dumping crappy 3D on patrons and expecting congratulations for doing so. More impressive even than the visual effects was the way Apted framed the action, avoiding shaky camera work in favor of geographical awareness (a decision which almost always features the best possible outcome). An escape sequence on a seemingly deserted island was especially well choreographed.

Because the film centers around the youngest siblings, it features a great deal of “growing pain” scenes, in which Edmund and Lucy must overcome adversity and mature into adults, mirroring the same scheme used with Peter and Susan in Prince Caspian. For the most part, these moments are well-handled, though the premise of a darkness sweeping the land that tempts people is a bit heavy-handed. Speaking of this evil-incarnate, it serves multiple purposes in the film, from consuming human sacrifices to – in a move straight out of Ghostbusters - taking on the form of whatever fears it. It also appears as a green version of the Smoke Monster from LOST, which was almost as laughable as the concept of the smoke itself. Aside from that aspect being a little too on the nose, I didn’t have many problems with the rest of the movie.

Will Poulter has an interesting arc as the annoying cousin, Eustace Scrubb. He spends the first half of the film begging the audience to murder him with their minds thanks to his brash personality and haughty sense of higher intelligence. But as the movie progresses and he undergoes a bit of a transformation (I won’t ruin it in case you check it out), he actually becomes not only tolerable, but actually empathetic. His relationship with the brave mouse Reepicheep becomes a focal point of the movie and is one of the more entertaining elements on display.

Ben Barnes continues to stand out as Caspian, and I honestly believe he has that movie-star quality about him that could easily earn him some choice roles in the coming years. I expect great things from him, and expect this guy to quickly become a rising star in Hollywood. The other actors bring their same acting styles from the earlier films across here, which is to say that they are adequate but not breathtaking. Voice work from Liam Neeson and Simon Pegg was as good as you’d expect from actors of their stature, although Neeson’s role is much more brief than previous installments in this franchise.

I haven’t read the book on which this is based in probably 15 years, so I can’t speak to the accuracy in that regard, but the film version basically presents us with an alternate telling of Homer’s The Odyssey. By sea, the crew travels to various lands in search of these lost lords and is tested at every turn, from magic spells to cursed food and everything in between in a morality tale about having faith and overcoming temptation. Since The Odyssey is one of my favorite stories, that explains my enjoyment of this movie. The same themes are present to a degree; actions have consequences in Narnia, a lesson learned for when the characters return to the real world.

Issues of faith are tackled head on, with the film embracing its Christian undertones – let’s face it, overtones – and though this movie borders on sanctimonious at times, I didn’t think it ever crossed the line into being overly preachy. This series has proudly flown its flag from the beginning, so you know what you’re getting yourself into here: if you can’t handle a little positivity in your movies, stay home for this one.

The film plays an interesting game in its final minutes, effectively wrapping up the Pevensie storyline but leaving an opening for another sequel just in case this one makes bank at the box office. If I were to guess, I’d say this is the last we see of Narnia until the inevitable reboot in 10 years, and I’m OK with that. If you have kids, or you’re a sucker for adventure tales, I’m sure you’ll find something to enjoy with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Until next time…

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Disney must have been rather pleased after The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe earned nearly $750 million worldwide when it was released back in December 2005. Looking at the numbers now, it earned more than Transformers, the first Pirates movie and was around $30 million short of Spider-Man 2.

However, when The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian was released earlier this year it made $300 million less than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. That’s not how things are supposed to work! Sequels usually make more than the first film. Disney must have been doing a lot of thinking because the third film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, was not given the swift greenlight, and now it has been announced that Disney will no longer co-produce or co-finance the next Narnia film.

From THR:

Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media have confirmed that for budgetary and logistical reasons the Burbank-based studio is not exercising its option to co-produce and co-finance The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader with Walden.

The Hollywood Reporter says the third installment was in preproduction and set for a spring shoot for a planned May 2010 release. The development puts the participation of the talent attached in doubt, adds the trade. Michael Apted was on board to direct a script by Steven Knight. The key players of the second installment, “Prince Caspian” — Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell — were to return for the third film.

Walden has a strong relationship with the C.S. Lewis estate and will shop “Treader” in hopes of finding a new partner. The most likely candidate at this stage is Fox, which markets and distributes Walden fare under the Fox Walden banner.

Any partnership on a “Narnia” movie will require a substantial investment, however. “Caspian,” which filmed in the Czech Republic, Mexico and New Zealand, cost $200 million. The first film, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” was shot mostly in New Zealand for $180 million.

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A new behind-the-scenes featurette for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian has popped up on the internet.  In it you get a few new scenes that haven’t been shown in the trailers/tv spots, as well as interviews with director extraordinaire Andrew Adamson and new star Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian himself!)…

Click Here to watch the video.

I’ve always been excited about this movie, and this only adds to it!

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Bloody Disgusting says they have “confirmed 100% that Rob Zombie has been taking meetings with Lionsgate and Nu Image to get behind the director’s chair for their upcoming Conan film.” If this turns out to be true, expect lots of blood, gore and a much darker Conan than we may have seen before.

An extended Jumper scene has appeared online and can be seen over at Yahoo!

An international trailer for WALL-E has popped up over at Empire. We get to see more of WALL-E, along with a whole new character and we finally get to see more of the plot line. Check it out here.

NarniaWeb received word that filming for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will start filming this summer, to be released in May 2009. Producer Mark Johnson said “As long as the Narnia movies keep succeeding and I don’t make a big mistake, I will continue doing them.”

Read similar posts to Small Updates: Conan, Jumper, WALL-E and Narnia! at Filmonic