OPENING: Ride Along (UNI) huge; Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (PAR) trampled by Lone Survivor; The Nut Job (OPRD) a $24M to $25M weekend, Devil’s Due (Fox) goes all to hell. NOTEWORTHY: Oscar nominated August: Osage County (TWC) expands to over 2,000; Best Picture Oscar-nominees 12 Years a Slave(FSL), Captain Phillips (SONY), Philomena (TWC), Gravity (WB), Dallas Buyers Club (Focus) all add theaters in hopes to cash in but really don’t. American Hustle (SONY) gets the best bounce of the group and also easily trumps The Wolf of Wall Street (PAR).
UPDATE, SATURDAY 7:43 AM: Ride Along is riding phenomenally high for Universal Pictures, with an expected box office take of over $40M to $45M 4-day, which puts it on track to be the second biggest Martin Luther King holiday box office opener (behind Cloverfield, $46.1M). Saturday will tell the tale. Remember there are big football games over the weekend leading up to the Super Bowl which will certainly impact the box office. Universal dominates this weekend as its Lone Survivor ($26.6M)is not letting up and showing no mercy to newcomer Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit from Paramount. In fact, at this point, Jack Ryan is not even close to No. 3; that goes solidly to The Nut Job from Open Road Films. Jack Ryan is battling for No. 4 feeling the Frozen effect as Disney’s picture (in week 9) won’t stop playing. Jack Ryan was originally supposed to go in December but was moved from that spot thinking an urban picture like Ride Along was no big deal. Not mentioning any names over at Par but the initials RM come to mind. Paramount’s gotta be kicking themselves right now. 
They decided not to move the picture to President’s Day. New Line is also kicking itself as it lost Ride Along to Universal. This weekend proves exceptional news for not only Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, but also for United Talent Agency which literally represents every person in that film, including the stars and its director Tim Story. Kudos, too, to Universal chairman Donna Langley who was the champion behind the action comedy that got an A CinemaScore. Simply put, after this weekend, Universal owns January. Then there’s Devil’s Due, with a D+ CinemaScore – hate to say it but somebody’s baby is downright ugly. Who will get the tenth spot is too hard to judge at the moment. Here are the estimates based on Friday numbers. The numbers are likely to change.
1). Ride Along (UNI), 2,663 theaters / $14.5M Fri. / Estimated 3-day Cume: $35M / Estimated 4-day Cume: $40M to $45M / Wk 1
2). Lone Survivor, (UNI) 2,989 theaters (+114) / $6.6M Fri. / 3-day Cume $22.6M / 4-day Cume: $26.6M / Wk 4
3) The Nut Job (OPRD) 3,427 theaters / $4.7M Fri. / 3-day Cume: $$18M to 19.4M / 4-day Cume: $24.6M to $25.9M / Wk 1
4/5). Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (PAR) 3,387 theaters / $5.3M Fri. / 3-day Cume: $15.8M to $16M / 4-day Cume: $18.6M / Wk 1
Frozen, (DIS) 2,979 theaters (-260) / $2.5M Fri. / 3-day Cume: $12.7M to $12.9M / 4-day Cume: $17.6M to $18.7M / Wk 9
6). American Hustle, (SONY) 2,204 theaters (-425) / $2.8M Fri. / 3-day Cume: $9.8M to $10.3M /4-day Cume: $11.7M to $12.2M / Wk 6
7). Devil’s Due (FOX) 2,544 theaters / $3.4M Fri / 3-day Cume: $9.1M to $9.3M / 4-day Cume: $10.4M / Wk1
8). August: Osage County, (TWC) 2,051 theaters (+1146) / $2M Fri. / 3-day Cume: $7.4M / 4-day Cume: $8.8M / Wk 4
9). The Wolf Of Wall Street, (PAR) 1,930theaters (-591) / $2M Fri. / 3-day Cume: $6.5M to $7M / 4-day Cume: $8.2M / Wk 4
10). Her, (WB) 1,729 theaters (0) / $1.1M Fri. / 3-day Cume: $4M / 4-day $5M /Wk 5
Saving Mr. Banks, (DIS) 2,449 (-222) $1M to $1.1M Fri. / 3-day Cume: $3.8M to $3.9M / 4-day Cume: $4.4M to $4.8M / wk 6
The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (WB) 1,815 (-1260) $873K to $898K / 3-day Cume: $3.6 / 4-day cume: $4.5M to $4.7M / Wk 6
NOTEWORTHY: The Legend Of Hercules, (LGF/SUMMIT) 2,104 theaters (0) / $881K Fri. / 3-day Cume: $2.9M / 4-day Cume: $3.4M / Wk 2 Oscar re-issues: Not one of the reissues from the best picture nominations makes much impact:
Gravity, (WB) 944 theaters (+789) / $462K Fri. / 3-day Cume: $1.6M / 4-day Cume: $1.8M
12 Years a Slave (FSL) 761 theaters (+647) / $388K Fri. / 3-day Cume: $1.3M / 4-day Cume: $1.6M
Philomena (TWC) 505 theaters (-102) / $350K Fri. / 3-day Cume: $1.2M / 4-day Cume: $1.4M
Dallas Buyers Club (Focus) 419 theaters (+294) / $235K Fri. / 3-day Cume:$854,000 / 4-day Cume: $1M
Captain Phillips 903 theaters (+789) / $140K Fri. / 3-day Cume: $546K / 4-day Cume: 664K
PREVIOUS: Thursday night’s late-night screenings for Universal Pictures’ action comedy Ride Along, which marks the first comedic lead for stand-up performer Kevin Hart, grossed $1M. That beats the opening night of Universal’s The Best Man Holiday, which opened to $689,000 on previews (1,402 runs) on November 14 on its way to a $30.1M three-day gross; Best Man Holiday cumed out at $70.5M. Universal is also making comparisons to Pain & Gain, which starred Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson and opened on April 25, 2013 for a preview gross of $750,000 and a $20M three-day weekend (odd comparison). Hart, who stars with Ice Cube, previously more than held his own in Grudge Match and in This Is The End, but it will be Ride Along that he’ll be able to call his own (beyond his concert films). The pic opens with 2,262 runs. This is another holiday weekend with Martin Luther King Day on Monday, so we will have three-day and four-day box office.
With Paramount’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit debuting in 3,387 theaters and Uni’s Lone Survivor in its second weekend in 2,989 spots, some industry pundits are predicting that the war film — with a possible high-teen gross — could outpace Paramount’s Ryan (which compared to Ride Along last night grossed just $325,000 in previews). That will be the one to watch. Regardless, Universal is on track to shine this weekend with its two films. Meanwhile, the animated The Nut Job from Open Road Films scampers into a loaded 3,427 theaters to nudge Disney’s Frozen in its ninth week on 2,979 runs. A new animated film for the family.
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