How 'Ride Along 2' beat 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' at the box office
'Ride Along 2' and 'The Revenant' took down the massive hit 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' this weekend at the box office. What happened?
'Ride Along 2' and 'The Revenant' took down the massive hit 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' this weekend at the box office. What happened?
Both the new comedy 鈥淩ide Along 2鈥 and the awards season drama 鈥淭he Revenant鈥 managed to best 鈥淪tar Wars鈥 this weekend, as 聽鈥淪tar Wars:聽 The Force Awakens鈥 came down from No. 1 at the box office for the first time since its release a month ago.聽
鈥淩ide Along 2,鈥 a comedy sequel starring Kevin Hart and Ice Cube, came in first in ticket sales in its first weekend of release with a domestic gross of $34 million. The release of the comedy follows the success of 2014鈥檚 鈥淩ide Along鈥 at a similar time of year.
鈥淭he Revenant,鈥 which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a nineteenth-century man who is injured in the wilderness, grossed more than $29 million in its second weekend of wide release. 'Revenant' is also getting Oscar buzz thanks to its performance in recent awards shows.聽
And 鈥淪tar Wars: The Force Awakens,鈥 which recently became the highest-grossing movie of all time domestically, without adjusting for inflation, came in third this weekend, taking in more than $25 million.聽
Director Michael Bay鈥檚 new movie 鈥13 Hours鈥 came in fourth, grossing $16 million. Obviously a new movie coming in fourth is not ideal. Bay鈥檚 film, which stars John Krasinski and David Denman, will have to do very well in the coming weeks to recover financially.聽
The Will Ferrell comedy 鈥淒addy鈥檚 Home,鈥 which like 鈥淪tar Wars鈥 opened around the holidays, came in fifth, taking in more than $9 million for the weekend.聽
Meanwhile, the new animated movie 鈥淣orm of the North鈥 opened in sixth, grossing more than $6 million.
The beginning of the calendar year and especially January is traditionally thought of as a quieter time at the box office. Following the high-profile months of November and December when many Oscars contenders are released and studios attempt to lure families over holiday breaks with fare like 鈥淭he Hunger Games鈥 or a new animated film, January is usually a time for fewer major movies.
Compare earlier this month, when the horror movie 鈥淭he Forest鈥 was released on Jan. 8 and 鈥淭he Revenant鈥 expanded, to the weekend of Dec. 25 last month, when 鈥淛oy,鈥 鈥淧oint Break,鈥 鈥淒addy鈥檚 Home,鈥 鈥淐oncussion,鈥 and a limited release of 鈥淭he Revenant鈥 all opened and 鈥淭he Big Short鈥 had opened a couple of days before.
But studios may have learned that by opening a film during a quieter time at the box office, they can score big. In 2014, 鈥淩ide Along鈥 easily dominated the multiplex when it opened in January, becoming one of the biggest hits of the year.
Last year, 鈥淭aken 3,鈥 another action movie, had similar success opening in January. Further back, the film 鈥淧aul Blart: Mall Cop鈥 also did well after opening in January 2009, as did the first 鈥淭aken鈥 movie.
While 鈥淔orce鈥 is a huge movie, it鈥檚 now a month old, and different audiences are no doubt seeking out 鈥淭he Revenant鈥 than are 鈥淩ide.鈥 If 鈥淩ide鈥 can hold off the competition in coming weeks, it could be a January hit like its predecessor.