The Kevin Hart/Ice Cube buddy comedy Ride Along debuted this holiday weekend with a smashing $41 million, which sets the record for a January opening. Despite dismal reviews, the movie received an "A" from audiences and will have pulled in about $47 million over the four day weekend. The movie officially launches Kevin Hart as a box office attraction, apparently, as we're sure to see more of him from now on. In second place was Lone Survivor, which dipped just 38% for a $23 million total this weekend, putting its box office at $74 million. The movie is benefiting from great word of mouth, as it also received that rare "A+" from audiences last week.
Surprisingly, in third place with $20 million was The Nut Job, an animated family film starring the voice Will Arnett, which surpassed expectations, signaling that families were looking for a movie other than Frozen to see over the holiday. It got a "B" Cinemascore, but might hold on as it's already done much better than expected. In fourth was the underwhelming new Jack Ryan film, which came in with a weak $17 million- not much for what was supposed to be a reboot of the franchise which has starred actors like Sean Connery, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck in the past. It won't do much more either, as it also received a middling "B" from crowds and played 85% over the age of 25. Finally, Frozen took fifth, pulling in another $12 million for a $333 million total, and trying to pass Despicable Me 2's box office to take the crown for biggest animated film of 2013.
Top 5
- Ride Along- $41.2 million
- Lone Survivor- $23.3 million
- The Nut Job- $20.6 million
- Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit- $17.2 million
- Frozen- $12 million
American Hustle was by far the movie that benefited most from the Oscar nominations on Thursday, jumping 24% to pull in another $10 million for a $116 million total so far, and with probably a lot more to go before Oscar night. Other received similar boosts, especially August: Osage County, which was lifted to $7.6 million this weekend. Next week it's I, Frankenstein with Aaron Eckhart, as the fairly dismal month for new releases continues.
