Ice Cube continues his hot streak at the box office, as his
comedy “Are We There Yet?” topped the box office this weekend, raking
in $18.5 million.
The movie, which
stars the former N.W.A. lead rapper opposite Nia Long, is a family flick about
a materialistic bachelor who falls for a single mother of two children.
The two children
go to any length to prevent a new man from entering their mother’s life.
While winter weather on the East coast of the United States
prevented many from seeing the movie, Sony executives were thrilled with the
movie’s initial numbers.
"To do $18.5 million in spite of the weather is fantastic,"
Sony distribution chief Rory Bruer told Variety. “Even if it had been
perfect movie going conditions, it would have been terrific."
But the conditions were far from perfect, despite the impressive
box office numbers for Cube and company. Much of the Northeast region of the
United States was blanketed with over 2 feet of snow and hurricane strenght
winds, which shut down air travel and killed 13 people.
Another movie featuring a rapper debuted in the top ten as well.
“Assault on Precinct 13,” which stars The Inc. rapper
Ja Rule, took in $7 million dollars over the weekend.
According to executives who distributed “Assault on Precinct
13,” the weather played a factor in their opening numbers.
"In a lot of our dates, like Scranton, Penn., we might
as well not have been there. Everybody got wiped out," said Jack Foley,
an executive with Focus, the company distributing the film.
Ja Rule’s label mate Ashanti enjoyed a better weekend,
as the basketball drama “Coach Carter” in which she stars, took
second place, grossing $11 million.
