Long Range Forecast: 'Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit', 'Ride Along, 'Devil's Due', & 'The Nut Job'

Featured Stories - on November 22, 2013 by BoxOffice Staff

jan17.pngFour films join our forecast this week as our first look at January 2014's releases continues.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

PROS:

- The Jack Ryan franchise has enjoyed a handful of hits in the past.
- Chris Pine brings a familiar name and face to the franchise reboot.
- Director Kenneth Branagh proved that he can handle tentpoles after successfully helming 2011's Thor. 
- Having moved from its original Christmas slot, the slower winter season could benefit the film if older crowds show up. 

CONS:

- Will audiences care to see a Jack Ryan reboot, more than a decade after Ben Affleck briefly took the reigns from Harrison Ford?
- Chris Pine proven to be a box office draw on his own.
- The January release could also speak to a lack of confidence in the movie.
- The crowded weekend of wide openers. 

Ride Along

PROS:

- Kevin Hart is in the middle of surging popularity, recently evidenced by Let Me Explain and 2012's Think Like a Man.
- Ice Cube also has a solid box office history, including his recent supporting turn in 21 Jump Street.
- Comedies can play well this time of year. See Identity Thief. 

CONS:

- Are audiences willing to see Hart as a leading man?
- Ice Cube's past successes were released quite some time ago. 

Devil's Due

PROS:

- Horror flicks generally have a more positive recent history than horror sequels.
- The Devil Inside opened to strong numbers back in January 2012. 

CONS:

- Will audiences go in for another horror movie one week after Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones?
- The lack of star names or drawing power. 

The Nut Job

PROS:

- This will be the first animation offering for kids and families since November's Frozen.
- Gnomeo & Juliet surprised many in the industry with its performance back in early 2011. 

CONS:

- The film marks distributor Open Road's first foray into the animation genre.
- Since mid-summer 2013, audiences have seemingly burned out on animation (recently shown by Free Birds' underwhelming debut). 

Notable changes on our forecast this week include The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (down), Black Nativity (down), Oldboy (down) and Justin Bieber's Believe (down).

Check out our forecast for these and other upcoming films in the table below.

Title Release Date Distributor First Weekend of Wide Release Cumulative
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Jan 17, 2014 Paramount
 $26,000,000** $70,000,000
Devil's Due Jan 17, 2014 Fox
 $8,000,000** $17,000,000
Ride Along Jan 17, 2014 Universal
 $31,000,000** $73,000,000
The Nut Job Jan 17, 2014 Open Road
 $12,000,000** $38,000,000
Hercules: The Legend Begins Jan 10, 2014 Lionsgate / Summit
 $6,000,000 $14,000,000
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones Jan 3, 2014 Paramount
 $18,000,000 $31,000,000
Lone Survivor Dec 27, 2013 Universal
 $26,000,000 $74,000,000
The Wolf of Wall Street Dec 25, 2013 Paramount
 $21,000,000 $100,000,000
47 Ronin Dec 25, 2013 Universal
 $11,000,000 $47,000,000
Justin Bieber's Believe Dec 25, 2013 Open Road
 $10,000,000 $36,000,000
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Dec 25, 2013 Fox
 $19,000,000 $90,000,000
Grudge Match Dec 25, 2013 Warner Bros.
 $16,000,000 $70,000,000
Walking With Dinosaurs Dec 20, 2013 Fox
 $9,000,000 $54,000,000
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Dec 20, 2013 Paramount
 $54,000,000 $185,000,000
Her (2013) Dec 18, 2013 Warner Bros.
 $7,000,000 $28,000,000
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Dec 13, 2013 Warner Bros. / New Line
 $79,000,000 $275,000,000
Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas Dec 13, 2013 Lionsgate
 $26,000,000 $70,000,000
American Hustle Dec 13, 2013 Sony / Columbia
 $15,000,000 $88,000,000
Saving Mr. Banks Dec 13, 2013 Disney
 $14,000,000 $85,000,000
Out of the Furnace Dec 4, 2013 Relativity Media
 $10,000,000 $38,000,000

Frozen: $41 million/$190 million*
Homefront: $8.5 million/$23 million*
Black Nativity: $8 million/$24 million*
Oldboy: $4 million/$15 million*
 

* = 3-day weekend (Fri-Sun)
** = 4-day weekend (Fri-Mon) 

Phil Contrino, Daniel Garris, Alex Edghill, and Shawn Robbins contributed to this report.

Tags: Ride Along, The Nut Job, Devil's Due, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

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