UPDATE 1-Box Office: 'Ride Along 2,' 'The Revenant' Push 'Star Wars' From First Place

(Adds other movies)
By Brent Lang
LOS ANGELES, Jan 17 (Variety.com) - Its long reign is over.
After four weeks atop box office charts, Disney's "Star
Wars: The Force Awakens" has ceded first place to Universal's
"Ride Along 2." The comedy sequel picked up a leading $34
million across 3,175 venues and $39.5 million over the four-day
Martin Luther King weekend. The space opera slid to third place
with $25.1 million for the three days and roughly $30 million
for the four-day period. It has earned $851 million stateside
and $1.86 billion globally.
Universal spent $40 million re-teaming Ice Cube and Kevin
Hart. "Ride Along 2" finds the bickering police officers trying
to bring a Miami drug ring to justice.
Fox's "The Revenant" was bolstered by its strong showing at
the Oscar nominations on Thursday when the wilderness epic
picked up a leading 12 nods, including ones for Best Picture and
for the performances of stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.
The story of a fur trapper seeking revenge racked up $29.5
million over the three days.
Its domestic total stands at $87.7 million and it should
pull in $34 million over the holiday. New Regency financed the
ambitious film, which battled production delays, crew
defections, and a budget that ballooned from $90 million to $135
million, to emerge as an awards season winner.
Paramount's "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi"
flirted with political controversy, drawing a rebuke from a CIA
spokesman, will pulling off a solid $16 million opening over the
three days. The $50 million production will do an estimated $19
million over the holiday. It screened at 2,389 locations. The
2012 attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi,
Libya resulted in the killing of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher
Stevens. Critics in the Republican Party have faulted the Obama
administration for its response to the attack and for not being
forthcoming about warnings it received that the compound might
have been in danger.
Lionsgate's "Norm Of The North" pulled in $6.7 million from
2,411 locations. The animated film about a polar bear who is
displaced from his Arctic home and makes his way to New York
City, should do $8.8 million worth of business over the four-day
span.
"The Revenant" wasn't the only Oscar nominee to enjoy a
bump. Fox Searchlight's "Brooklyn" saw its receipts climb 51% to
$2 million from 687 theaters, bringing its total to $25 million.
Fellow Best Picture nominee "Room" saw its revenue spike up over
500%, topping out at $893,357 for the weekend from 293
locations. The A24 release has earned $6.2 million.