Told ya so. Most Americans opted to stay home and watch a terrible football game, rather than head to the movie theatre. Newcomers “That Awkward Moment” and “Labor Day” failed to attract any interest with moviegoers. As a result, that little buddy comedy known as “Ride Along” cruised to another first place finish.
Despite falling 42 percent, “Ride Along” earned an estimated $12.3 million in its third weekend. The buddy cop comedy becomes the first movie of the year to stay at number one for three consecutive weeks, and has now earned just under $93 million.
Things look mighty bright for this movie as it starts opening in overseas markets. Also remember that “Ride Along” earned an “A” approval rating with CinemaScore audiences, which should help keep in the movie in the top 10 for some time.
Disney Animation’s “Frozen” added an estimated $9.3 million, which is up two percent from last weekend. Why the increase? Could be the Oscar nominations, good word-of-mouth, or the lack of any other major family films. Then again, it could be the addition of the Sing-Along version of the movie, which was responsible for around $2.2 million of its gross..
For a film to earn $9.3 million in its 10th weekend is rare. Frozen’s weekend ranks fourth all-time behind “Titanic,” “Avatar” and “Slumdog Millionaire.” The movie has now grossed over $360 million, and is on pace to pass “Despicable Me 2″ ($368.1 million) in the next couple of weeks. While overseas, things are even better as”Frozen” has earned and additional $504,400,000.
In third place, “That Awkward Moment” opened to an estimated $9 million. This is the lowest nationwide debut yet for a Zac Efron movie. Is it too soon for Efron to hope for a “High School Musical: The Class Reunion”?
“That Awkward Moment” fell short of expectations, but the bomb of the week award goes to “Labor Dy.” At 2,584 locations, “Labor Day” could only muster $5.4 million. Not surprisingly, the movie’s audience was 59 percent female and 71 percent over the age of 25. It received a “B-” CinemaScore, and if the opening is any indication, will have trouble getting anywhere near $35 million by the end of its run.
Your top five movies this weekend:
1. Ride Along—$12.3 million
2. Frozen—$9.3 million
3. That Awkward Moment—$9 million
4. The Nut Job—$7.6 million
5. Lone Survivor—$7.2 million