Buddy cop comedy Ride Along 2 has ended Star Wars‘ month-long dominance of the US box office.
The sequel to the 2014 hit, with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube, raced to the top of the charts in its opening weekend. It knocked The Force Awakens into third place with a strong debut of $34 million.
Awards buzz continues to lure cinema-goers to The Revenant. The atmospheric revenge drama received 12 Oscar nominations last week, including best picture and lead actor for Leonardo DiCaprio. That helped the film rake in another $29.5 million, allowing it to stay in second position comfortably.
While Star Wars is no longer North American box office champion, Disney executives found another reason to celebrate – the beloved space adventure’s foreign takings have officially crossed the $1 billion mark. It is only the fifth film ever to do so. In North America alone, The Force Awakens has grossed a staggering $856 million.
Michael Bay’s military thriller 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi took fourth place with $16 million. The Paramount-backed movie is centred on the 2012 attack on the US diplomatic compound in the Libyan city. The incident, which result in the death of an American ambassador, remains politically controversial and one CIA spokesperson has even criticised 13 Hours for distorting of true events on the ground.
Daddy’s Home rounds off the top five with $9.3 million, bringing its domestic gross to $131 million. The comedy’s success could pave the way for a third Mark Wahlberg-Will Ferrell outing.
https://youtu.be/vDx6g5ua25E?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published January 18, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
