On this very crowded MLK Day weekend, Ride Along is by far the strongest new title.  The comedy took first place on Friday with an estimated $14.5 million and is now expected to pull in $39 million through Sunday and $45 million for the four-day holiday.  That’s significantly higher than projected and puts the Universal comedy in the running for both the all-time January and MLK Day opening records.  At the moment, both titles still belong to 2008’s Cloverfield.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit opened in third place on Friday with an estimated $5.43 million.  That’s a disappointing start for Paramount’s latest take on the Tom Clancy hero, which was expected to top $20 million in its first three days.  Instead, look for Shadow Recruit to come in with just under that by the end of the four-day weekend.  Devil’s Due took in an estimated $3.5 million yesterday.  The supernatural horror film was expected to hit $15 million through Monday, but $9 million now seems more likely.  Finally, The Nut Job earned $4.8 million on Friday, towards what looks like $25 million in four days.  Should this critically-savaged animated film come out that far ahead of Jack Ryan, it would mark quite an upset – differing demographics notwithstanding.