'Are We There Yet?' arrives at top of weekend box office

LOS ANGELES -- The road trip comedy "Are We There Yet?" earned $18.5 million to quickly arrive at first place in the weekend box office.

The family picture starring rapper-actor Ice Cube in its opening weekend sent "Coach Carter" back to the bench when the basketball drama brought in $11 million for second place, according to studio estimates released Sunday.

"Assault on Precinct 13," a remake of the 1976 cult classic about cops and criminals joining forces against a jail siege by gang members, took in $7 million in its first weekend and finished sixth in the box office tally.

"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 attractive divorced mother.

Showing in wide release at 2,709 theaters, "Are We There Yet?" averaged $6,829 a cinema.

"It's a total family picture," said Rory Bruer, president of distribution for Sony Pictures. "It's very funny, and Ice Cube did a terrific job. He's just hysterical in it."

The comedy played well across demographics, with an audience breakdown of 43 percent white, 26 percent black and 18 Hispanic, Bruer said.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

1. "Are We There Yet?" $18.5 million.

2. "Coach Carter," $11 million.

3. "Meet the Fockers," $10.2 million.

4. "In Good Company," $8.5 million.

5. "Racing Stripes," $7.06 million.

6. "Assault on Precinct 13," $7.02 million.

7. "The Phantom of the Opera," $5.02 million.

8. "White Noise," $5 million.

9. "The Aviator," $4.8 million.

10. "Elektra," $3.8 million.