‘Ride Along’ drives N. American box office

> at AMC Loews Lincoln Square on January 15, 2014 in New York City. Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images/AFP” title=”BOX OFFICE. (L-R) Producer Will Packer, actor Ice Cube and director Tim Story attend the “Ride Along” screening>> at AMC Loews Lincoln Square on January 15, 2014 in New York City. Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images/AFP” width=”640″ height=”360″ />

LOS ANGELES, California – Cop comedy Ride Along motored to the top of the North American box office for a third weekend in a row, final figures showed Monday.

The action flick starring Kevin Hart and Ice Cube easily outpaced its rivals, earning $12 million in the United States and Canada, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations reported.

In second place with $8.9 million was Disney’s smash hit “Frozen,” a loosely-based retelling of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale.

A frontrunner for best animated feature film at the Oscars, it has earned nearly $360 million in North America since its release.

New arrival “That Awkward Moment,” starring Zac Efron in a romantic comedy about three friends who pledge to remain single only to fall in love, opened in third place with $8.7 million in box office receipts.

In fourth place, children’s movie “The Nut Job,” a tale about a squirrel forced to survive in the big city after being banished from his park, earned $7.3 million.

That pushed “Lone Survivor” — the Afghanistan war drama starring Mark Wahlberg based on the true story of a disastrous Navy SEAL commando raid targeting an extremist fighter — to fifth, with $7.1 million in earnings.

Lagging in sixth with $5.3 million was “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” the action adventure prequel starring Chris Pine in the fifth film based on author Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan thrillers.

Romantic drama “Labor Day” starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin took seventh spot with $5.2 million, ahead of con-man caper “American Hustle,” which took in $4.2 million.

Starring Christian Bale and Amy Adams as grifters who team up with an FBI agent played by Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle” is up for 10 Oscars at the Academy Awards.

In ninth spot was “I, Frankenstein,” based on a graphic novel reboot of Mary Shelley’s famous 19th century tale, starring Aaron Eckhart. The film took $3.7 million.

Another Oscar-nominated movie, Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” starring Leonardo DiCaprio as disgraced financier Jordan Belfort, was in 10th with $3.4 million.

Recently, television host Conan O’Brien shared a Lyft car with Ride Along stars Ice Cube and Kevin Hart. Watch the funny video here:

– Rappler.com