Straight Outta Compton Tops for Third Week

Straight Outta Compton was able to hold off a strong challenge from War Room to remain in first place last weekend with $13.13 million. The modestly budgeted F. Gary Gray directed N.W.A biopic from Universal Pictures has led the weekend box office for three consecutive weekends. Straight Outta Compton is the fourth film to lead the box office for at least three consecutive weekends in 2015, as it joins Warner Bros. Pictures’ American Sniper and fellow Universal releases Furious 7 and Jurassic World. Straight Outta Compton continued to show signs of being front-loaded, as the film was down 50 percent from the previous weekend. In the bigger picture, Straight Outta Compton continues to impress with a 17-day gross of $134.02 million.

Straight Outta Compton, the N.W. A. biopic, was topped the box office for the third weekend in a row.
(Photo: Jaimie Trueblood/Universal Pictures)

Sony Pictures’ War Room was off to a nice start with a second place debut of $11.35 million. The low-budget Kendrick Brothers produced faith based film from TriStar Pictures and AFFIRM Films exceeded its modest expectations heading into the weekend. Making the film’s performance even more impressive was that the film was only playing in 1,135 locations last weekend. That gave War Room a strong per-location average of $10,001 for the frame. War Room was aided by an effective grass-roots marketing campaign and by the pre-established fanbase for the Kendrick Brothers. Previous Kendrick Brothers films, Fireproof and Courageous both displayed strong holding power during their respective runs. War Room will likely display strong holding power of its own going forward.

Paramount Pictures’ Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation continued to hold up well with a third place take of $8.16 million. It was an especially close race for third place last weekend, as Rogue Nation and No Escape were separated by only $44,317 for the weeekend. The Tom Cruise led Rogue Nation continues to hold up very well, as it was down 29 percent from last weekend. Thanks in part to strong holding power throughout its run, Rogue Nation has grossed a very healthy $170.24 million through 31 days of release. Expect Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation to hold up very well over the upcoming Labor Day holiday weekend.

The Weinstein Company’s No Escape debuted in fourth with $8.11 million. The action thriller starring Owen Wilson, Pierce Brosnan and Lake Bell opened in line with its modest pre-release expectations. Since its debut on Wednesday, No Escape has grossed $10.17 million in its first five days of release. While No Escape received mixed reviews from critics, the film appears to be going over better with moviegoers. No Escape will hope to hold up well next weekend with the aid of both positive word of mouth and the Labor Day holiday.

Upon receiving a re-expansion last weekend that included a return to IMAX locations, Jurassic World took ninth place with $3.01 million. The 3D blockbuster sequel from Universal expanded into an additional 665 locations last weekend and was up 218 percent over the previous weekend. Without taking into account inflation, Jurassic World remains the third highest grossing film of all-time domestically with a current total gross of $642.98 million.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros.’ We Are Your Friends was off to an anemic start with $1.77 million. That placed the low-budget Zac Efron led drama all the way down in 14th place. We Are Your Friends opened significantly below expectations and potential for the film was ultimately limited by the film’s low-profile advertising push. We Are Your Friends debuted 80 percent below the $8.74 million start of last year’s That Awkward Moment. We Are Your Friends certainly marks a poor first post-Neighbors performance for Efron, but the actor is likely to rebound in a big way next year with Dirty Grandpa , Neighbors 2 and Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates all scheduled to open in 2016.

Mark Heckathorn

Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.