1. Ride Along- $41.2M
Kevin Hart has solidified himself as box office superstar as the cop comedy Ride Along got off to a record-breaking $41.2M start, ahead of Cloverfield's $40M during the 2008 Martin Luther King holiday weekend. Hart had been on the rise after the surprising success of Think Like a Man, plus his recent concert film Let Me Explain, but this puts him in rare comedy company. Of course having Ice Cube around didn't hurt, and we can probably expect the duo to return in an inevitable sequel.
2. Lone Survivor- $23.2M/$74M
3. The Nut Job- $20.5M
With Frozen finally losing steam, the family crowd had no choice but to seek out The Nut Job, which critics have mostly panned. Budgeted at around $40M, it should have no problem earning that back and then some over the next couple of weeks with little competition in the animation field.
4. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit- $17.2M
Paramount's attempt to revitalize Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan franchise has washed out of the program, failing to even crack $20M which any halfway-decent franchise should do easily. After an 11-year hiatus after the mediocre The Sum of All Fears, it's clear audiences still don't care about Jack Ryan. This is especially sore for star Chris Pine, who has yet to prove himself a bankable lead outside of Star Trek. How long before we get a reboot of the reboot?
5. Frozen- $11.9M/$332.6M
6. American Hustle- $10.6M/$116.4M
Hello, Oscar bump!
7. Devil's Due- $8.5M
Hey, it's another cheapie early year horror flick, and like the others it's already turned a profit on a measly investment.
8. August: Osage County- $7.59M/$18.1M
9. The Wolf of Wall Street- $7.5/$90.2M
10. Saving Mr. Banks- $4.1M/$75.3M
