Monday, January 18, 2016
‘Ride Along 2’ unseats ‘Star Wars’ at box office
LOS ANGELES
The cops busted the Force.
The seemingly unstoppable box-office power of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” finally met a more powerful adversary – Kevin Hart and Ice Cube, the stars of Universal Pictures’ “Ride Along 2,” which knocked the latest chapter in the space saga from the top spot it’s held for four weeks.
The sequel to the 2014 buddy-cop comedy hit grossed an estimated $34 million in the U.S. and Canada through Sunday. This sets up the film to retain the first-place spot through the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend and to meet, if not exceed, its $40 million in expected ticket sales through today.
Also topping “Star Wars” was 20th Century Fox’s “The Revenant,” which earned $29.5 million in its fourth week after an initial limited release.
Disney’s “The Force Awakens” placed third with $25.1 million. It continues its record-setting run, crossing $1.9 billion globally.
Newcomer “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi,” from Paramount Pictures, landed in fourth place with $16 million in ticket sales, on its way to besting expectations of $20 million during the four-day weekend.
Rounding out the top five was Paramount’s “Daddy’s Home,” adding $9.3 million in its fourth week.
Los Angeles Times (TNS)