Box office: 'Ride Along' speeds past 'Lone Survivor'

By Chris Barton

Jan. 18, 2014 12 AM PT

The buddy comedy “Ride Along” drove to the top of the box office rankings Friday, earning an estimated $14.5 million.

The comedy starring stand-up favorite Kevin Hart and musician-turned-actor Ice Cube was projected to perform well at the box office in its first weekend, with pre-release audience surveys forecasting earnings that could reach as high as $40 million. The film marks the first leading role for Hart, who also appeared in the previous feature from “Ride Along” director Tim Story, 2012’s “Think Like a Man.”

“Lone Survivor,” which posted an opening total of $37.8 million last weekend, is tracking for second place thus far this weekend with $6.7 million, according to estimates.

“Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” the reboot of the action franchise based on the character from the novels of the late Tom Clancy, is thus far on pace for third on the weekend’s chart with an estimated $5.4 million in earnings. It’s the first movie with the character of Ryan since 2002’s “Sum of All Fears,” which starred Ben Affleck. Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford have also played the Clancy hero in early movie versions.

Also opening this weekend, the animated family film “The Nut Job” earned $4.8 million on its first day of release, according to estimates. That places it ahead of the low-budget horror film “Devil’s Due,” which took in an estimated $3.5 million in its Friday debut.

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