‘Ride Along’ leads North American box office again

NEW YORK - In North America, the Kevin Hart comedy “Ride Along” continued to speed through a typically quiet box-office frame, while the monster thriller “I, Frankenstein” couldn’t be roused from the dead.

Universal’s buddy cop comedy “Ride Along,” co-starring Ice Cube, cruised to the top of the box office again, taking in $21.2 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. The film last week set a January debut record, with $48.6 million over the three-day holiday weekend.

For the second weekend in a row, Universal claimed No. 1 and No. 2 at the box office, with the Afghanistan war film “Lone Survivor” earning $12.6 million in its fifth week. With a cumulative total of $93.6 million, the relatively inexpensive “Lone Survivor,” starring Mark Wahlberg, will soon cross the $100 million mark.

“I, Frankenstein” had a sizable budget, estimated at $65 million, yet opened with just $8.3 million. Starring a beefed-up Aaron Eckhart as Mary Shelley’s famous monster in a modern-day setting, the 3-D film wasn’t screened for critics and came into the weekend with little buzz. Lakeshore Entertainment financed the film, which was distributed by Lionsgate.

With $13 million in overseas box office, “I, Frankenstein” could scare up better business internationally.

Two family films trailed “Ride Along” and “Lone Survivor.” The animated squirrel comedy “The Nut Job” made $12.3 million in its second week for Open Road Films. Disney’s juggernaut “Frozen” added $9 million for a 10-week domestic total of $347.8 million.

Several Oscar candidates sought to capitalize on their recent best-picture nominations. Expanding by a few hundred theaters were “Dallas Buyers Club” ($2 million, $20.4 million total), “12 Years a Slave” ($2 million, $45.5 million total), “Gravity” ($2 million, $261.2 million total), “Philomena” ($1 million, $25.8 million total) and “Nebraska” ($1.4 million, $11.6 million total). Also adding theaters was “August: Osage County,” which earned $5 million, bringing its cumulative haul to $26.5 million. AP