# Ride Along (film)
**Ride Along** is a 2014 American action-comedy film directed by [Tim Story](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-story) and starring Ice Cube as Atlanta detective James Payton and [Kevin Hart](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-hart) as Ben Barber, a high school security guard who joins James on a 24-hour patrol to prove he is worthy of marrying James's sister Angela ([Tika Sumpter](https://www.edgepedia.org/tika-sumpter)).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/69972-RIDE-ALONG) • [2](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/ride-along) Made on a $25 million budget, it earned $154.5 million worldwide and spawned the 2016 sequel *Ride Along 2*.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1408253/credits/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | January 17, 2014, nationwide in the United States; world premiere January 13, 2014 at the TCL Chinese Theatre, Hollywood[4](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/universal-pictures-presents-the-world-premiere-of-ride-along-238934541.html) |
| Director / writers | Tim Story; screenplay by Greg Coolidge, Jason Mantzoukas, Phil Hay, and Matt Manfredi[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/69972-RIDE-ALONG) |
| Producers | Will Packer, Ice Cube, Matt Alvarez, and Larry Brezner, for CubeVision, Rainforest Films, and Relativity Media[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/69972-RIDE-ALONG) |
| Principal cast | Ice Cube (James Payton), Kevin Hart (Ben Barber), Tika Sumpter (Angela Payton), John Leguizamo (Santiago), Bruce McGill (Lt. Brooks), Laurence Fishburne (Omar)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/69972-RIDE-ALONG) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ride_along_2014/cast-and-crew) |
| Running time / rating | 100 minutes; rated PG-13 for sequences of violence, sexual content, and brief strong language[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/69972-RIDE-ALONG) • [2](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/ride-along) |
| Box office | $134,938,200 domestic (87.4%) and $19,530,702 international, for $154,468,902 worldwide, against a $25,000,000 budget[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1408253/credits/) |
| Critical reception | 17% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 132 reviews; Metascore 41 on Metacritic from 34 critic reviews[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ride_along_2014) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/ride-along/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
For two years Ben Barber, a fast-talking high school security guard, has tried to convince James Payton, a decorated Atlanta detective, that he is worthy of James's sister Angela. When Ben is accepted into the police academy, James invites him on a ride-along, a shift deliberately designed to scare the trainee. The night leads the pair to the city's most notorious criminal, and James finds that Ben's rapid-fire mouth is as dangerous as the bullets speeding at them.[2](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/ride-along) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ride_along_2014/cast-and-crew) According to a later summary of the story, the situation they are thrust into involves James's hunt for an arms dealer.[8](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2118978-popular-ice-cube-comedy-movie-getting-sequel)
### Sequels
*Ride Along 2*, again directed by Tim Story and starring Hart and Ice Cube, opened in 2016 to $41 million and grossed $91 million in the United States and a further $33 million overseas according to one trade summary; Variety put its total at $125 million.[10](https://www.darkhorizons.com/ride-along-3-now-in-early-development/) • [14](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/news/ride-along-3-ice-cube-kevin-hart-returning-workin-moms-writer-hired-35151/) The sequel took the pair to Miami to investigate a drug smuggling ring.[8](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2118978-popular-ice-cube-comedy-movie-getting-sequel)
In April 2026, *Ride Along 3* entered early development at Universal, with Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Tim Story, and producer [Will Packer](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-packer) all reportedly in early discussions to return. Daniel Gold, writer of the Netflix/CBC comedy series *Workin' Moms*, was hired to write the screenplay after nearly a decade of unsuccessful attempts to mount a third film; Variety attributed the long delay in part to big-screen comedies falling out of favor as studios ceded the genre to streaming services.[14](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/news/ride-along-3-ice-cube-kevin-hart-returning-workin-moms-writer-hired-35151/) • [10](https://www.darkhorizons.com/ride-along-3-now-in-early-development/)
## Production
The project originated with Ice Cube, who was attached from the start and sent the script to producer Will Packer. Packer, having just made *Think Like a Man* with director Tim Story and Kevin Hart, brought both men onto the film; the pairing of Cube and Hart was chosen after the producers considered who should appear opposite Cube.[9](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/exclusive-producer-will-packer-on-putting-ride-along-together-and-starting-new-company/) The project had been at New Line before Universal bought it and, with the Packer-Story-Hart package in place alongside Ice Cube, became the highest bidder.[9](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/exclusive-producer-will-packer-on-putting-ride-along-together-and-starting-new-company/) Packer has said the studio was initially reluctant to take the risk of an action movie made with their control in Atlanta, but agreed.[9](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/exclusive-producer-will-packer-on-putting-ride-along-together-and-starting-new-company/)
The film was produced by CubeVision, Rainforest Films, and [Relativity Media](https://www.edgepedia.org/relativity-media), with Dentsu also credited, and distributed by [Universal Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/universal-pictures). Larry Blanford was the cinematographer, Craig Alpert the editor, Christopher Lennertz the composer, and Chris Cornwell the production designer.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/69972-RIDE-ALONG)
## Box office
**Commercial performance.** *Ride Along* opened domestically on January 17, 2014 and took in $41,516,170 in its opening weekend on the way to $134,938,200 in the United States and $19,530,702 internationally.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1408253/credits/) Over the four-day [Martin Luther King Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-luther-king-jr) holiday frame it drew $48.6 million, a record MLK weekend take that gave producer Will Packer his fifth number-one opener.[9](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/exclusive-producer-will-packer-on-putting-ride-along-together-and-starting-new-company/) • [10](https://www.darkhorizons.com/ride-along-3-now-in-early-development/) The film then won three consecutive weekends; *Time* reported it was the first live-action comedy to do so since *Tropic Thunder* in August 2008, and the first film costing less than $100 million to manage that run since *The Help* in 2011.[11](https://time.com/3804/super-bowl-weak-end-ride-along-wins-again-by-default/)
## Critical reception
Critics rated the film poorly while audiences responded far more favorably. Rotten Tomatoes recorded 17% positive among 132 critics, with a critics consensus crediting Kevin Hart's livewire presence but finding it insufficient to rescue the film from the buddy-cop doldrums; the audience Popcornmeter stood at 58% from more than 50,000 ratings.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ride_along_2014) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 41, described as mixed or average, based on 34 critic reviews, with a user score of 5.6 from 182 ratings.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/ride-along/)
Reviewers repeatedly identified the formula. Ashley Clark in *Time Out* called it a derivative action-comedy coasting on cop-movie clichés, while noting that Tim Story found the right blend of humor and action in a couple of taut sequences, and criticized the film's suggestion that playing violent video games is effective police training.[12](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ride-along) A *Time* review of the sequel described the original's central dynamic as Hart saying and doing nutty stuff while Ice Cube responds with his trademark thundercloud scowl.[13](https://time.com/4183235/ride-along-2-kevin-hart-ice-cube/)
## References
1. [Ride Along (2014), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/69972-RIDE-ALONG)
2. [Ride Along, Universal Pictures At Home](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/ride-along)
3. [Ride Along (2014), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1408253/credits/)
4. [Universal Pictures Presents the World Premiere of Ride Along, PR Newswire](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/universal-pictures-presents-the-world-premiere-of-ride-along-238934541.html)
5. [Ride Along | Cast and Crew | Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ride_along_2014/cast-and-crew)
6. [Ride Along (2014), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ride_along_2014)
7. [Ride Along Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/ride-along/)
8. [Popular Ice Cube Comedy Movie Getting Sequel, ComingSoon.net](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2118978-popular-ice-cube-comedy-movie-getting-sequel)
9. [Exclusive: Producer Will Packer on putting Ride Along together, Blackfilm.com](https://www.blackfilm.com/read/exclusive-producer-will-packer-on-putting-ride-along-together-and-starting-new-company/)
10. ["Ride Along 3" Now In Early Development, Dark Horizons](https://www.darkhorizons.com/ride-along-3-now-in-early-development/)
11. [Super Bowl Weak-end: 'Ride Along' Wins Again, by Default, Time](https://time.com/3804/super-bowl-weak-end-ride-along-wins-again-by-default/)
12. [Ride Along film review, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ride-along)
13. [REVIEW: Ride Along 2 Offers More of the Same Silly Laughs, Time](https://time.com/4183235/ride-along-2-kevin-hart-ice-cube/)
14. ['Ride Along 3' With Ice Cube, Kevin Hart Hires New Writer After a Decade in Development, Variety](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/news/ride-along-3-ice-cube-kevin-hart-returning-workin-moms-writer-hired-35151/)
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