Weekend Box Office: Ride Along Threepeats as Awkward Moment, Labor Day Stumble

By Chris Kavan - 02/02/14 at 11:29 PM CT

Although most true Americans were busy stuffing their faces with artery-clogging food topped off by amber waves of beer - otherwise known as the Superbowl - those who ventured out to theaters were happy with the hold overs and the counter-programming offered to women couldn't muster up a good offense. It led to a weekend that was slightly above 2013 - but was still a pretty poor start for February - hopefully the rest of the month will bring better results.

1) RIDE ALONG

For the third week in a row Ride Along was the top draw at the box office. Falling 42.2%, the film brought in $12.3 million to give it a new total of about $93 million - and it should become the first film of 2014 to cross the $100 million mark by next. week. Among recent releases, only Gravity and The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug have managed to reach the the top spot three weeks in a row. It is likely to fall next weekend with stronger competition, but make no mistake, Ride Along has been one of the bright spots of the new year. It also topped Think Like a Man ($91.5 million) among recent movies Hart has starred in, and is likely to surpass This is the End ($101.47 million) as well - even though his role in that was more like a glorified cameo. Hopefully his luck continues, as the Valentine's Day release About Last Night drops on the 14th.

2) FROZEN

The film with the most to boast about over the weekend comes from Frozen - after 10 weeks out, the film actually gained over 2% (thanks most likely to added "sing-a-long" screenings) and jumped from 4th to 2nd place in the process. It made an additional $9.3 million and raised its total to $360 million and it now trails Despicable Me 2 by just over $8 million - and should pass it within a week. It continues to perform spectacularly well - ranking 4th all time among any movies that have actually made it to a 10th weekend in theaters.

3) THAT AWKWARD MOMENT

Although it started off strong, the film poised to bring the women out while the Superbowl was one, only manged a $9 million opening. While that is a bit better than 21 and Over ($8.8 million) and Don Jon ($8.7 million) the film only received a "B" Cinemascore. Plus, with marketing aimed squarely at a younger, female audience (who made up 64% of the audience) this film is likely to drop off precipitously - and it will be lucky to top $25 million - though on an $8 million budge and modest marketing, that isn't a terrible return.

4) THE NUT JOB

The other animated film out dropped 37% and took in $7.6 million - and helped it cross the $50 million mark with a new total of $50.2 million. It has also quietly topped its $42 million budget - and with at least a few more weeks left, it should top out near $70 million or so. It will most likely face the biggest loss when The Lego Movie drops next weekend.



5) LONE SURVIVOR

After its limited debut last year, Lone Survivor became the 35th (and last) film of 2013 to cross the $100 million mark - earning $7.1 million (down 44.5%) and giving it a new total of $104.8 million. The film likely has a little gas left, though, and it should top out at about $120 million though it also faces direct competition next weekend from the war drama Monuments Men.



Outside the top five: Also poised as counter-programming to the Superbowl, Jason Reitman's latest effort, Labor Day, had a poor showing with just $5.3 million (7th place) - and even though it topped his previous films Young Adult ($3.4 million) and Thank You for Smoking ($4.5 million) - it should also be noted both of those film opened in less than half of the 2,584 theaters Labor Day opened to. It also earned just a "B-" Cinemascore and is likely to fall short of $20 million before its quick exit.

American Hustle become the highest-grossing film yet for director David O. Russell and the multiple Oscar-nominated picture brought in $4.3 million (8th place) raising it's total to $133.6 million, passing the $132.09 million that Silver Linings Playbook brought in last year. We'll see if Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence has as much luck with a different director when Serena (directed by Susanne Bier) enters theaters later in the year.

Next weekend looks to be a bit more exciting in terms of new films. One is the ensemble cast of Monuments Men (George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Cate Blanchett amongst them) - and I film I was looking forward to last year before it got pushed back a few months. There is also a new family film in the form of The Lego Movie with vocal talent from the likes of Will Arnett, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Elizabeth Banks and Jonah Hill. Considering the increased popularity of the LEGO name (from video games to increasingly collectible mini-figs) this could easily top the box office. Also opening is Vampire Academy, which looks to court the teen crowd.

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