Family film claims top spot at box office

The road trip comedy “Are We There Yet?” earned an estimated $18.5 million to quickly arrive at first place at the weekend box office.

The family picture starring rapper-actor Ice Cube sent the previous weekend’s leader, “Coach Carter,” back to the bench. The basketball drama brought in $11 million for second place, according to studio estimates.

Three other holdovers rounded out the top five: “Meet the Fockers,” $10.2 million; “In Good Company,” $8.5 million; and “Racing Stripes,” $7.06 million.

The weekend’s other new release, “Assault on Precinct 13,” a remake of the 1976 “cult classic” about cops and criminals joining forces against a jail siege by gang members, finished sixth with an estimated $7.02 million.

“Are We There Yet?” follows Cube as he embarks on a road trip with two manipulative children who he tolerates only because he is trying to woo their divorced mother.

The PG-rated comedy continued the trend of family films performing well at the box office, especially over the past six months, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

“Meet the Fockers,” a PG-13-rated film, is marching toward becoming the highest grossing live-action comedy of all time. Its five-week total now stands at $247.7 million, moving it into second place in the live-action comedy category behind record-holder “Home Alone,” which earned $285.8 million.