TNU Box office Rewind: I ran out of guacamole

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

Movie Review: Ride Along

Possible spoilers ahead!!

I never planned on seeing “Ride Along in theatres, but after the movie set a January box office record, I was curious what all the fuzz was about. That, and the wifey wanted to see it. And like it or not, you gotta listen to wifey from time to time.

As for the movie, the ruth is “Ride Along” really isn’t much of a comedy.  Sure there are some laughs, and it has an occasionally touching moment here and there. But the more I think about it, the funniest spots were all in the trailer.

In “Ride Along” Kevin Hart plays Ben, a school security guard who doesn’t get much respect from anyone, even from the students. The no respect thing is a reoccurring plotline in the film, but one of the few highlights of the movie was Ben’s stay-in-school lecture to a young kid.

Anywho, Ben is eager to attend the police academy so he can propose to his girlfriend Angela (Tika Sumpter). But one big (And I mean big) problem stands in his way: Angela’s brother James (Ice Cube). You see, James (A police detective) doesn’t believe Ben is a worthy future-in-law. mostly because Ben is short and because Ben set James on fire one time.

The short joke was funny the first time you heard it, but after 90 minutes of short jokes, you’re sick of them. Although I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, the being short comedy is Kevin Hart’s schtick.

In an effort to wins James’s approval, Ben agrees to a ride along while James is on-duty. What starts out as a day of James making Ben look bad, ends up with the two in pursuit of a never-seen Atlanta crime kingpin who goes by the scariest name of them all…”Omar.”

This is where I’d normally comment on the acting in the movie. But really, what would be the point? It’s not like Ice cube has a wide range of acting abilities. While behind the camera, you should know this movie was directed by Tim Story, the man behind the ridiculously bad Fantastic Four movies. Wish I’d known that before I paid to see “Ride Along.”

I wasn’t a fan of “Ride Along,” but just because I didn’t like it doesn’t mean you won’t. The bottom line is this: If you’re a fan of Kevin Hart’s stand-up comedy, and short jokes, then you’re likely going to enjoy this movie. Just don’t go in expecting another “Training Day.”

“Ride Along” final score: 6

TNU Box Office Rewind: it’s dead, it’s dead!

I hate to say “I told you so” but I did say “I, Frankenstein” would bomb this weekend. As a result, the Ice Cube/Kevin Hart comedy “Ride Along” took another ride to the top of the chart.

After setting a new January opening record last weekend, “Ride Along” dipped 49 percent to an estimated $21.2 million. Yeah that’s a mighty drop, but after just 10 days, the buddy cop comedy has brough in $75.4 million, and it should cross $100 million in the next week or two. Now I didn’t care much for “Ride Along,” (more on that later today), but clearly this movie is clicking with audiences. I wonder how long before Ride Along 2 gets a green-light?

Universal Pictures is smiling all the way to the bank, because this week it controlled the two top spots. In its third weekend, “Lone Survivor “dropped 43 percent to $12.6 million. The Afghanistan war drama has now earned $93.6 million, and it should surpass the $95.7 million “Zero Dark Thirty”  earned last year sometime this week.

Then we have the bomb of the week. Opening at 2,753 locations, “I, Frankenstein” was dead on arrival with just $8.3 million. To put it in perspective, that’s less than half of last year’s “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters,” and even lower than fellow 2014 bomb “The Legend of Hercules” ($8.9 million).

Those that saw “I, Frankenstein” were 60 percent over 25, and 62 percent were males. An estimated 60 percent of ticket sales were from 3D showings, and the movie received a so-so “B” CinemaScore. Making matter worse, “I, Frankenstein” has a terrible 5 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Don’t expect “I, Frankenstein” to stay in theatres long.

Your top five movies this weekend:

1. Ride Along, $21.2 million.

2. Lone Survivor, $12.6 million.

3. The Nut Job, $12.3 million.

4. Frozen, $9 million.

5. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, $8.8 million.

TNU Box Office Preview: I, don’t care

Once again, this will be a weekend dominated by holdovers. Why? Because the only brand-new nationwide release this week is “I, Frankenstein,” and expectations are fairly low for ol’ Frankie boy. This is good news for last weekend’s box office winner “Ride Along,” which should easily hold on to the top spot this weekend. But let’s get back to “I, Frankenstein” for a moment.

Playing at 2,753 locations, “I, Frankenstein” is based on the graphic novel, and it features a new take on the Mary Shelley Frankenstein story. This movie directed by Stuart Beattie finds the monster (played by Aaron Eckhart) battling supernatural forces in the present day. The film also stars the always great Bill Nighy, and the only good part of “Chuck,” Yvonne Strahovski.

Although the trailer for “I, Frankenstein” has played in theatres for months, it just hasn’t generated much buzz. Marketing has targeted males during the NFL playoffs,but I doubt that’s helped. There’s also been a substantial amount of marketing to Hispanic audiences, with Aaron Eckhart popping up on Telemundo and Univision morning shows.

Speaking of Aaron Eckhart, I thought after starring in “The Dark Knight” he’d be a bigger star, and we’d see him all over the place. He’s a good actor, but his choice of roles since TDK has been strange to say the least.

Last year “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” opened the same weekend with $19.7 million. However, despite featuring a classic character, “I, Frankenstein” isn’t likely to open that high. The Lionsgate-distributed film cost $65 million to produce, and its gonna have a hard time earning that back. If this movie gets anywhere near $20 million, it will be a miracle. I think “I, Frankenstein” is looking at a $12 million weekend.

 

 

TNU Box Office Rewind: A record ride

The Kevin Hart/Ice Cube comedy “Ride Along”didn’t just open at number one, the film also set a new January opening record. As for “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” and “Devil’s Due,” well… I’ll get to those in a minute.

Playing at 2,663 locations, “Ride Along” scored an outstanding $41.2 million over the three-day weekend. That’s higher than the record $40.1 “Cloverfield” debuted to in January 2008. “Ride Along” had the highest opening for an original comedy since “Ted” earned $54.4 million back in June 2012.

Ride’s audience was 57 percent female, and 54 percent over the age of 25. With a solid”A” CinemaScore, strong word-of-mouth, “Ride Along” is guaranteed to earn over $100 million by the end of its domestic run.

It was a good weekend for Universal Pictures as “Ride Along” beat expectations, and “Lone Survivor” took second place this weekend with an estimated $23.2 million. The movie dipped 39 percent from last weekend, but with an “A+” CinemaScore and strong reviews, this movie ain’t going anywhere for a while..To date, the war drama has earned $74 million at home, and has yet to open overseas. .

Animated comedy “The Nut Job” opened in third place this weekend with a surprisingly strong $20.6 million. It’s hard to tell if the success will last because audiences didn’t necessarily love “The Nut Job.” Moviegoers awarded the movie a “B” CinemaScore, which is poor for animated film. Nut Job’s strong opening may be the result of being the only new family film in a couple of months.

Another new film, “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” opened to an estimated $17.2 million, which was only good for fourth place. It should be noted the first Jack Ryan movie with Chris Pine in the lead, opened on par with “The Hunt for Red October” ($17,161,835).

However, Red October hit theaters 24 years ago, and in about half the theatres Shadow Recruit opened in. Not to mention, ticket prices in 1990 were about half of what they are now.

The audience for “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit”was 52 percent male and 85 percent over the age of 25. It received a weak “B” CinemaScore, and will have probably have trouble earning back its $50 million budget. At any rate, I enjoyed the movie, and will see it again in theatres.

The award for bomb of the week goes to “Devil’s Due” which landed in seventh place with just $8.5 million. The horror genre is still doing well, but the disappointing performance earlier this month of “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones” and now “Devil’s Due” suggests audiences are tired of the found footage horror genre.

Your top five movies this weekend:

1. Ride Along — $41.2 million

2. Lone Survivor — $23.2 million

3. The Nut Job — $20.55 million

4. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit — $17.2 million

5. Frozen— $12 million

Among the award season nominees, “American Hustle” led the way with $10.6 million this weekend, up 28 percent from last weekend. The David O. Russell movie has already earned $116.4 million, and could gross $150 million with a little help from the Oscars..

“August: Osage County” expanded to 2,051 locations and added $7.6 million. To date, the family drama starring  Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts has grossed $18.2 million. Meanwhile, “The Wolf of Wall Street” dropped 15 percent to $7.5 million. And “Her” dipped 24 percent to $4.1 million, for a new total of $15 million.

TNU Box Office Preview: Short jokes

I would love to say “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” will obliterate the competition this weekend, but I can’t. In the end Jack Ryan will do okay, but its buddy comedy “Ride Along” that should easily take first place this weekend.

“Ride Along: is the latest in the usually reliable buddy-cop comedy. I say usually because sometimes you get hits like “The Heat,” or disasters like  “Cop Out.” The good news for “Ride Along” is that it stars Kevin Hart, who has a pretty decent track record on the big screen. “Think Like a Man earned $91.5 million and his stand-up film  “Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain” brought in $32.2 million last summer.

Co-star Ice Cube doesn’t have as good a track record at the box office, but I don’t think that will hurt the movie at all, because this movie will appeal to both men and women.

Plus, the film’s tagline of: “Propose to this cop’s sister? Rookie mistake” makes it easy to understand what the film is about, and could bring in casual the moviegoers. Universal expects an opening around $30 million, but I think it will be more around $35 million. Remember, this is the first big comedy of the year, and movie goers haven’t laughed (on purpose) in a while.  “Ride Along” is opening at 2,662 locations,

“Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” is the fifth time the Tom Clancy character has appeared on the big-screen. The most recent Ryan film was 2002’s “The Sum of All Fears,” which starred Ben Affleck. “Sum of all Fears” finished its domestic run with $118,907,036.

There were three Jack Ryan movies in the early 1990s, with Ryan being portrayed once by Alec Baldwin in “The Hunt for Red October,” and twice by Harrison Ford in “Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger.”

Now its Chris Pine taking over the Jack Ryan role in Shadow Recruit. Pine is no stranger to rebooting iconic character, he played Captain James T. Kirk  in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek reboot, and the 2013 sequel. But those films had the luxury having a massive fan base, and the question remains:

Can Chris Pine open a movie on his own?

Despite the film’s strong supporting cast, Paramount is expecting an opening under $20 million, but I’m thinking it will be more around $25 million for the four-day weekend. Jack Ryan may not be Star Trek, but the character also has a fan base. Shadow Recruit is opening at 3,387 theaters

At 2,543 locations, “Devil’s Due” is the second found footage supernatural horror movie of 2014. Fox is hoping this one does better than “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones” whick tanked with an $18.3 million opening. Hate to break it you Fox, but “Devil’s Due will barely get to $8 million..

The first animated movie of the year is “The Nut Job” from Open Road Films. The movie is opening at 3,427 locations this weekend, which seems kinda high to me. But . this is the first family movie since “Frozen” hit theatres almost two months ago, so it should find an eager audience. However,  for the four-day weekend, “The Nut Job” won’t make it past $15 million.

One last thing: Keep an eye on the Oscar nominated films, and the Golden Globe winners. Some of them could see a nice bump this weekend.