Record ‘Ride Along’ for MLK weekend
The comedy grosses $48.1 million, besting a 2008 mark, for top box office spot.
The cop comedy “Ride Along” drove past expectations to win at the box office and set records over the Martin Luther King Day weekend, proving again that studios shouldn’t underestimate the diverse film audience.
The Universal Pictures buddy movie, which stars comedian Kevin Hart and actor-rapper Ice Cube, grossed a studio-estimated $48.1 million in ticket sales through Monday in the U.S. and Canada, easily beating last week’s winner, “Lone Survivor,” and new entrants including “The Nut Job” and “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.”
Not adjusting for inf lation, “Ride Along” set the record for the four-day Martin Luther King Day holiday weekend, topping 2008’s monster movie “Cloverfield.” Also, “Ride Along’s” Friday-through-Sunday total of $41.6 million was the biggest January three-day opening ever.
“Ride Along,” which cost $25 million to make, generated just 12% of its revenue from white moviegoers. Its audience was 50% African American and 30% Latino.
The movie benefited from good timing, said Nikki Rocco, president of distribution at Universal Pictures. “When we were setting up the release days for movies after the holidays, it just looked like the perfect time to release an urban comedy.”
Although it received lackluster reviews, “Ride Along” was well received by those who saw it, evidenced by a grade of A from the audience polling firm CinemaScore.
The Comcast Corp.owned studio is enjoying a solid start to the new year. The studio’s “Lone Survivor” — last week’s best performer — also surpassed expectations, in part by attracting a diverse crowd. Just 48% of those who bought tickets were white.
“Lone Survivor” finished in second place this time around, with an estimated gross of $26.4 million through Monday.
“The Nut Job,” a 3-D crit- ter caper distributed by Open Road Films, grossed about $25.3 million, beating “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” for a third-place finish — a better-than-expected result for an animated film not from a major studio. The production from Gulfstream Pictures, Red Rover International and ToonBox Entertainment features the voices of Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Gabriel Iglesias and Katherine Heigl.
Paramount Pictures’ $60-million “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” a reboot starring Chris Pine as Jack Ryan, the Tom Clancy-created CIA character, generated $18 million in ticket sales over four days, about in line with projections. Reviews were mixed; moviegoers gave it a B on CinemaScore.
“Frozen,” the animated Disney musical, landed in fifth place with a four-day run of $16.2 million, bringing its domestic total to about $337 million.
Some awards hopefuls got a boost after Oscar nominations were announced Thursday. “American Hustle,” nominated for 10 Academy Awards, took in $11.5 million through four days, bringing its estimated cumulative gross to $117 million. Its Friday-through-Sunday tally improved 19% from the previous weekend.
The Weinstein Co.’s “August: Osage County,” nominated for two Oscars, added theaters and saw revenue rise about 3% for the threeday time frame to $7.37 million. For the four days through Monday, it brought in $8.89 million.
Paramount’s “The Wolf of Wall Street,” up for five Academy Awards, reduced its theater count by nearly 600 and saw its weekend gross drop from last week, landing at No. 9 with about $8.3 million through the holiday.