Is Ice Cube, ‘Ride Along 2’ Star, The Real King Of Movie Franchises?

Is actor Ice Cube turning into the next king of blockbuster movie franchises?

The longtime entertainer apparently has another box-office hit on his hands with Ride Along 2.

Variety reports that the follow-up sequel starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart in the leading role is expected to top the box office this weekend. Since it is also a holiday weekend, studio estimates project that Ride Along 2 will bring in $38 million by the end of the day on Monday.

Box Office: ‘Ride Along 2’ Now Heads for $40M Debut; ‘Revenant’ Targets $37M https://t.co/5CPKfjPrX9 pic.twitter.com/6xkZdpTLcC

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 16, 2016

The first film of the franchise – Ride Along(2014) – made over $154 million at the box-office worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. As long as Ride Along 2 is a commercial success, the chances of a third installment of this particular franchise would be very high. There are already quite a few reports circulating online about Ride Along 3 and where its plot should take Ice Cube and Kevin Hart’s leading characters.

Keep in mind, though, that this is not the first successful movie franchise that Ice Cube has been involved with throughout his career. The 46-year-old actor/director actually has been the leading star of two other box-office hit movie franchises: Friday and Barbershop.

The 1995 film Friday was directed by Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray. It paired Ice Cube alongside Chris Tucker in a movie that reportedly made over $28 million at the box-office with a production budget of just $3.5 million. The success of the first Friday movie led to two successful follow-up sequels: Next Friday(2000) and Friday After Next(2002).

The Friday franchise generated over $118 million at the U.S. box office, making it a big hit for Ice Cube as a leading actor, producer and writer.

Where one franchise left off, another franchise led by Ice Cube seemed to pick right up. The 2002 Tim Story-directed Barbershop gave Ice Cube another box-office hit to add to his growing list of lead roles. When the film generated over $75.7 million at the U.S. box office alone, it was apparently clear to fans and critics alike that the former N.W.A. member had the foundation of yet another hit franchise.

The 2004 follow-up sequel, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, made over $65.9 million at the box office.

A third installment of the Barbershop franchise is only months away from being released. Barbershop: The Next Cut, which adds a number of new faces to the cast while bringing back quite a few of the franchise favorites, is scheduled to hit theaters in April.

Ice Cube has also been spreading the word about an upcoming fourth installment of the Friday franchise titled Last Friday, according to the Huffington Post. There are even rumors circulating which claim that Chris Tucker may reprise his role from the first film.

The Barbershop,Friday and Ride Along franchises each featured Ice Cube as a leading star. However, that is not exactly where his list of franchise movies ends.

Ice Cube had a recurring role in the 21 Jump Street franchise starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill.

He also starred in the second installment of the XXX series, XXX: State of the Union, back in 2005. That particular movie was a box-office flop and one that many fans and critics would more than likely want to forget ever happened. However, it still counts as another notch on Ice Cube’s filmography belt.

You may not believe that Ice Cube is the king of movie franchises. His overall success as a franchise actor, though, is still a noteworthy accomplishment that is likely the envy of many other actors struggling to make a similar mark.

[Image Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty Images]