LOS ANGELES – Ride Along arrived in first place at the weekend box office.
The buddy cop comedy featuring Kevin Hart and Ice Cube debuted with $41.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The strong opening for Ride Along marks the biggest debut for a film released during Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend and puts it on track to top the $40.1 million record set by the 2008 monster movie Cloverfield for the biggest opening of January.
Ride Along is the first starring role for Hart, whose box-office status has been on the rise since the success of his 2013 stand-up film Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain and memorable stints in such movies as Think Like a Man, This Is the End and Grudge Match.
In second place, the Navy SEAL drama Lone Survivor starring Mark Wahlberg, Canada’s Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch and Ben Foster earned $23.2 million in its second weekend in wide release, bringing its domestic total to $74 million.
The animated film The Nut Job, directed by Canada’s Peter Lepeniotis and featuring the voices of Toronto’s Will Arnett and Ontario-raised Brendan Fraser, opened in third place with $20.6 million.
The weekend’s other major new releases, the spy series reboot Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and the horror flick Devil’s Due, respectively opened in fourth and seventh place.
Jack Ryan, which stars Chris Pine in the titular role, debuted with a disappointing $17.2 million. The film directed by and also featuring Kenneth Branagh performed better overseas, where it nabbed $22.2 million in 29 international markets.
Devil’s Due featuring Zach Gilford and Allison Miller as parents expecting their first child amid spooky occurrences birthed $8.5 million in its opening weekend.
Several films nominated for Academy Awards last week received a bump at the North American box office following their nods on Thursday, including American Hustle in sixth place with $10.6 million, August: Osage County in eighth place with $7.6 million and The Wolf of Wall Street in ninth place with $7.5 million. The Wolf of Wall Street also scored $27 million in 19 international territories.
The best picture contenders Gravity, Captain Phillips, 12 Years a Slave and Dallas Buyers Club were all rereleased in theatres this weekend following their Oscar nominations. Gravity is up with American Hustle for the most trophies with 10 nominations each at the 86th annual ceremony set for March 2.
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