Comedian Kevin Hart may not be hosting the Oscars this year. But he still found an upside in the midst of the controversy. Like, literally.
The Upside, a dramedy starring Hart and Bryan Cranston, broke Aquaman’s three-weekend hold on the box office, wheeling into first place with an estimated $19.6 million in North America.
Experts call The Upside’s unexpected win an upset. But really, Hart and January seem like they were made for each other. This marks the third time in four years, and the fourth time in six, that the comedian has appeared in a No. 1 film in January. Hart starred in last year’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which dominated the charts for almost the entire month; and he and Ice Cube combined for Ride Along 2, which scored a solitary No. 1 in January of 2016. Even a mighty superhero can’t compete with that sort of track record.
But while Aquaman might’ve sunk to second, it still has plenty of kick. The DC film stuffed another $17.3 million stateside into Davy Jones’ locker, bringing its total domestic haul to $287.9 million. But, as we’ve already documented, Aquaman’s been particularly mighty overseas. It has earned nearly that much again in China alone. Count up the rest of its planetary ticket stubs, and Aquaman has earned more than $1 billion, making it DC’s second-highest-grossing film ever, internationally speaking. (Only The Dark Knight Rises has done better.)
Another newcomer, the sweet, mostly kid-friendly A Dog’s Way Home, found its way to third place, wagging its tail as it went. It earned $11.3 million, which is a lot of money for a dog. The only downside is that the pooch might have to pay capital Gaines Burgers tax.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse spun a $9 million weekend into a fourth-place finish—besting fifth-place Escape Room ($8.9 million) by the width of a web. The animated flick has now earned upwards of $147.8 million, while Escape Room has not.
Oh, and the movie I reviewed this weekend, Replicas? Yeah, it landed with a big ol’ thud, finishing with $2.5 million for 12th place—the worst opening of Keanu Reeves’ career. (Whoa.). Moviegoers who skipped this one, I applaud you.
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