LOS ANGELES -- The cops busted the Force.
The seemingly unstoppable box-office power of Star Wars: Episode VII - 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 had held for four weeks.
The sequel to the 2014 buddy cop comedy hit grossed about $41 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters through Sunday.
"I think it starts with the filmmakers and the cast," said Nick Carpou, Universal's president of domestic distribution. "In sequels, audiences always play off of how much people like the characters the first time. As we're trending to be No. 1 for the four-day holiday, our audience is wide and diverse."
The first Ride Along was a surprise hit over the same holiday weekend two years ago, collecting an impressive $48.6 million domestically thanks to an especially strong turnout of black moviegoers. The follow-up continued to benefit from the box-office draw of Hart and Cube as the duo pulled in a diverse audience playing equally (34 percent each) to blacks and Hispanics.
Critics, however, didn't go along for the ride. The film, directed by Tim Story, received only a 14 percent positive rating by critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences gave it a lukewarm B-plus grade, according to polling firm CinemaScore.
Also topping Star Wars was 20th Century Fox's The Revenant, which got a boost from multiple wins at the recent Golden Globe Awards (best motion picture, drama; best director, Alejandro G. Inarritu; and lead actor, Leonardo DiCaprio) plus a host of Oscar nominations announced Jan. 14. The revenge drama garnered $37.5 million in its fourth week after an initial limited release. It has grossed $95.7 million to date.
Disney's The Force Awakens placed third with $33 million. It continues its record-setting run, crossing $1.9 billion globally. The J.J. Abrams-directed seventh installation of the franchise also nabbed five Oscar nominations, including for visual effects and editing.
Newcomer 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, from Paramount Pictures, landed in fourth place with a comfortable take of about $19 million, on its way to besting expectations of $20 million during the four-day weekend.
The Michael Bay action-thriller tells the story of six elite security contractors who fought back against the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. The filmmakers had hoped to tap into the same patriotic audience that turned out for other recent military hits such as American Sniper and Lone Survivor, but the film fell short, perhaps due to the broader political conversation during this election year.
Some Republicans, who have long criticized presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for her handling of the crisis in Benghazi while she was secretary of state, have tried to capitalize on the release of the movie. The studio insists that the movie is not political nor about Clinton. Still, its political topicality did have an effect on its performance.
"It's hard to not get caught up in the swirl of politics," said Megan Colligan, Paramount's president of domestic marketing and distribution. "But the movie doesn't have a big political agenda. It's just trying to focus on what these guys went through and how incredible their sacrifice was. I think when word of mouth is allowed to percolate, that's the thing that can help break through the swirl of everything else."
Audiences gave the $50 million film an A CinemaScore grade while Rotten Tomatoes critics were split, rating 13 Hours 59 percent positively. The film played best in the South.
Rounding out the top five was Paramount's Daddy's Home, adding about $12 million in its fourth week.
The only other new release of the week was Lionsgate's animated adventure Norm of the North, about a displaced Arctic polar bear in New York. It landed in sixth place, meeting expectations, with about $9.4 million.
The film received an A-minus CinemaScore from the under 18 segment of the survey (48 percent) and an overall score of B-minus.
On the limited-release front, a number of holdovers experienced upticks in sales following Oscar nominations, a response not uncommon.
"That's no accident," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for the entertainment data firm Rentrak. "That's a direct reflection of studios riding that wave of awards attention. Nominations breathe new life into your movie's prospects. You can literally see it in the numbers."
Fox Searchlight's Brooklyn and Open Road's Spotlight saw double-digit increases after receiving three and six Oscar nominations, respectively. Brooklyn grossed $2.2 million, a 57 percent week-to-week increase, while Spotlight pulled in about $2 million, a 67 percent increase.
The greatest increase came with A24's Room. Following four Oscar nominations, the film took in its biggest box-office weekend yet, in its 14th week, with a 504 percent increase.
"As award season continues," Dergarabedian said, "these films will continue to pull in money. There's a lot more gas in the tank for these movies."
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Monday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Tuesday by Rentrak:
Ride Along 2, Universal, $41,006,705, 3,175 locations, $12,915 average, $41,006,705, one week.
The Revenant, 20th Century Fox, $37,528,219, 3,559 locations, $10,545 average, $95,702,988, four weeks.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Disney, $33,020,265, 3,822 locations, $8,640 average, $858,953,106, five weeks.
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, Paramount, $19,224,408, 2,389 locations, $8,047 average, $19,224,408, one week.
Daddy's Home, Paramount, $11,902,133, 3,322 locations, $3,583 average, $131,858,235, four weeks.
Norm of the North, Lionsgate, $9,375,822, 2,411 locations, $3,889 average, $9,375,822, one week.
The Forest, Focus Features, $6,980,549, 2,509 locations, $2,782 average, $22,314,183, two weeks.
The Big Short, Paramount, $6,439,541, 1,765 locations, $3,648 average, $51,760,423, six weeks.
Sisters, Universal, $5,481,810, 2,313 locations, $2,370 average, $81,915,440, five weeks.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, 20th Century Fox, $4,336,322, 2,221 locations, $1,952 average, $81,049,347, five weeks.
The Hateful Eight, The Weinstein Co., $4,328,579, 2,385 locations, $1,815 average, $48,477,070, four weeks.
Joy, 20th Century Fox, $3,546,256, 1,796 locations, $1,975 average, $52,196,524, four weeks.
MET Opera: The Pearl Fishers, Fathom Events, $2,200,000, 900 locations, $2,444 average, $2,200,000, one week.
Brooklyn, Fox Searchlight, $2,179,998, 687 locations, $3,173 average, $25,129,611, 11 weeks.
Spotlight, Open Road, $2,072,165, 985 locations, $2,104 average, $31,045,328, 11 weeks.
Carol, The Weinstein Co., $1,758,492, 790 locations, $2,226 average, $9,454,346, nine weeks.
The Good Dinosaur, Disney, $1,524,177, 812 locations, $1,877 average, $119,317,790, eight weeks.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, Lionsgate, $1,420,716, 797 locations, $1,783 average, $279,599,584, nine weeks.
Creed, Warner Bros., $1,400,052, 878 locations, $1,595 average, $107,564,655, eight weeks.
Concussion, Columbia, $1,202,805, 1,041 locations, $1,155 average, $33,247,035, four weeks.
MovieStyle on 01/22/2016