Hart’s ‘The Upside’ unseats ‘Aquaman’ in $20.4M debut

NEW YORK — Kevin Hart isn’t hosting the Oscars, but he’s got a

No. 1 movie. “The Upside,” starring Hart and Bryan Cranston, surpassed expectations to open with $20.4 million in ticket sales.

The strong performance of “The Upside” pushed “Aquaman” to second after the aquatic superhero’s three-week reign atop the North American box office. Warner Bros.’ “Aquaman” still passed $1 billion worldwide over the weekend, becoming the first DC Comics release to reach that mark since 2012’s “The Dark Knight Rises.”

“The Upside” opened on the heels of several weeks of Oscar drama surrounding Hart. The comedian last month withdrew from hosting the Academy Awards , just days after being named emcee, when he initially refused to apologize for years-old homophobic tweets.

On the publicity trail for “The Upside,” Hart repeatedly dismissed the Oscar controversy, saying he was “over it,” while flirting with the possibility of returning as Oscar host.

Early January is often a dumping ground in movie theaters and the weekend featured a number of duds. Keanu Reeves’ sci-fi thriller “Replicas” debuted with just $2.5 million for Entertainment Studios — a career low for Reeves. Opening more solidly, in third place, was Sony’s canine adventure “A Dog’s Way Home” with $11.3 million.

The two biggest winners at last Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards — “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Green Book” — both saw a bump. Fox’s Freddie Mercury biopic, which increased its theater count with hundreds of sing-along screenings, was up 35 percent with $3.2 million. The best comedy/musical winner “Green Book” went up 16 percent with $2 million in its ninth week of release.

A couple awards contenders also expanded nationwide. Focus Features’ Ruth Bader Ginsberg tale “On the Basis of Sex” grossed $6.1 million in 1,923 on its third weekend. Barry Jenkins’ James Baldwin adaptation “If Beale Street Could Talk” took in $2.4 million in 1,018 theaters.