After four weeks of record-demolishing domination,Star Wars: The Force Awakenswill lose its grip on first place at the box office. In fact, with the opening ofRide Along 2and added playdates forThe Revenant,Star Wars 7will end its fifth frame at number three. This was not entirely unexpected, especially considering thatThe Forcelost 312 locations on Friday. The movie earned an estimated $6.3 million on Friday towards an expected $27 million fifth weekend or $35 million for the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. If realized, that would pushThe Force Awakens’ North American total up to $860 million – $100 million higher than the final gross ofAvatar.
First place honors this weekend will go toRide Along 2, sequel to the 2014 action comedy starringKevin HartandIce Cube. Two years ago, the originalRide Alongset a new record for the MLK holiday with its $41.5 million debut. Of course, that record was obliterated one year later whenAmerican Sniperclaimed a stunning $89.2 million in its first wide frame.Ride Along 2,which was expected to outperform its predecessor and claim the second-highest MLK opening of all time, earned an estimated $12 million on Friday. That indicates an opening weekend toward the lower end of pre-release projections. The sequel is now expected to earn $34 million this weekend and $40 million for the four-day holiday.
In second place on Friday isThe Revenant, with an estimated $9.3 million from 3,559 locations (an increase of 184 from the film’s nationwide expansion last weekend). The survival drama from directorAlejandro Gonzalez Iñárrituis having an incredible week, including its $39.8 million opening last weekend, a Golden Globes win forLeonardo DiCaprio, and ten Academy Awards nominations. With all this momentum behind it,The Revenantshould top $31 million this weekend and get close to $37 million through the four-day holiday.
The second of this weekend’s three new releases is13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. Directed byMichael Bay,and based on the 2012 attack on the American compound in Benghazi, Libya,13 Hourstook fourth place on Friday with an estimated $5.9 million from 2,389 locations. That should mean a weekend opening in the $16 million range, or a four-day gross of $19 million, which falls in line with pre-release expectations for13 Hours.Those numbers are also roughly equivalent to whatZero Dark Thirtyearned over MLK weekend in 2013. Of course, over the holiday three years agoZero Dark Thirtywas entering its second wide frame and had awards season buzz and strong reviews behind it - both conspicuously absent in the case of13 Hours.
This weekend’s final new release,Norm of the North, opened in seventh place on Friday with an estimated $1.58 million from 2,411 locations. The animated film, distributed by Lionsgate, will outperform its very modest expectations, though it still won’t reach $10 million through the four-day MLK frame. We’ll have complete box office details tomorrow.
Ride Along 2
$12,000,000
The Revenant
$9,300,000
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
$6,305,000
$5,925,000
Daddy’s Home
$2,500,000
