Usually the crappiest of months for new releases, January this year set a new box office record with the release of Ride Along. Starring Ice and Kevin Hart, the cop flick scooped in over $41 million, making this the highest opening for a new year movie since Cloverfield back in 2008. The latest Jack Ryan film on the other hand, missed its target completely, falling to a fourth spot debut below fellow newcomer The Nut Job. That’s right, super spy and tactical genius Jack Ryan couldn’t even outwit it’s way past a bunch of CGI squirrels and obvious nut jokes.
Thanks to the fact that Frozen was the last big animated film that hit the circuit two months ago. The Nut Job had found an excellent time to launch, attracting those valuable dollars away from kids and parents. The fifth Jack Ryan film however has opened on the same box office take as the movie that started off the franchise, The Hunt For Red October. A film which is now 24 years old and was released in a time when ticket prices used to cost half as much as they do today. That ain’t good for Jack Ryan in the long run. Here’s how everyone else did on the weekend:
- Ride Along – $41.2 Million
- Lone Survivor – $23.2 Million
- The Nut Job – $20.5 Million
- Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – $17.2 Million
- Frozen – $11.9 Million
- American Hustle – $10.6 Million
- Devil’s Due – $8.5 Million
- August: Osage Country – $7.59 Million
- The Wolf of Wall Street – $7.5 Million
- Saving Mr Banks – $4.1 Million
Top ten departures this past week included plenty. Sequels to The Hobbit, Anchorman and Paranormal Activity finished their top ten runs, while The Legend of Hercules crashed out of that list during its second week. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has been the biggest winner here, making $814.6 million after a six week run, which might be higher than the current Hercules film which has made $16 million worldwide so far. I think maths might be on my side here. Anchorman 2 bowed out with a global tally of $162.1 million while the latest Paranormal Activity made $65.9 million off a $5 million budget. Anyway you slice that cheese, it spells profit.
Last Updated: January 20, 2014
