Sony Pictures’ War Room moved into first place over Labor Day weekend with a four-day holiday (Sept. 4-7) gross of $13.39 million. The low-budget Kendrick Brothers produced faith based film from TriStar Pictures and AFFIRM Films was up one spot and a strong 18 percent from the previous weekend’s three-day start. In addition to the holiday, War Room also benefited from strong word of mouth and from expanding into an additional 391 locations last weekend. War Room has grossed a stronger than expected $28.70 million through 11 days of release. War Room led the three-day frame with $9.48 million.

War Room moved to the top of the box office over the Labor Day Weekend with $13.39 million. (Photo: AFFIRM Films)

Broad Green Pictures’ A Walk in the Woods was off to a nice second place start with a four-day take of $10.91 million. The Robert Redford led comedy adventure exceeded modest expectations and had a noteworthy performance as Broad Green’s first wide release. Since opening on Wednesday, has grossed $12.81 million in six days. Lower profile films aimed at adult audiences have a history of over-performing over Labor Day weekend and A Walk in the Woods certainly continued that trend last weekend. The film placed in third over the three-day frame with $8.25 million.

After leading the box office each of the past three weekends, Straight Outta Compton fell to third over the holiday weekend with $10.85 million. The successful F. Gary Gray directed N.W.A biopic from Universal Pictures was down 17 percent from the prevous weekend. While it remains fairly front-loaded, Straight Outta Compton continues to impress in a big way with a 25-day take of $149.78 million and was set to surpass the $150 million mark yesterday. Straight Outta Compton took second place over the three-day weekend with $8.65 million.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation claimed fourth place with $9.43 million over the four-day frame. The fifth installment of the Tom Cruise led blockbuster franchise from Paramount Pictures held up very nicely as it was up 16 percent from the previous weekend. Thanks in part to strong holding power throughout its run, Rogue Nation has grossed a very healthy $182.66 million in 39 days. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation took in $7.24 million over the three-day weekend.

EuropaCorp Films’ The Transporter Refueled followed closely behind in fifth with $9.01 million. The fourth installment of the action thriller franchise opened towards the lower end of modest expectations. As was the case for Broad Green’s A Walk in the Woods, The Transporter Refueled represented the first wide release for new distributor EuropaCorp Films. The film opened 55 percent below the $20.10 million four-day debut of 2005’s Transporter 2. The Transporter Refueled is likely to be front-loaded going forward. The Transporter Refueled took fourth place over the three-day weekend with $7.36 million.

The Weinstein Co.’s No Escape placed in sixth with $7.01 million. The action thriller starring Owen Wilson, Pierce Brosnan and Lake Bell was down a solid 14 percent from the previous weekend. No Escape has grossed $20.01 million through 13 days. No Escape grossed $5.47 million over the three-day frame.

Upon receiving a major re-expansion last weekend, Inside Outfinished in eighth place over the four-day period with $4.45 million. The 3D computer animated blockbuster from Disney and Pixar is now on the verge of reaching the $350 million domestic mark with a total gross of $349.53 million to date. Inside Out took in $3.24 million over the three-day weekend.

Meanwhile, Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos debuted in ninth place over the four-day weelemd with $4.36 million. The Spanish-language computer animated film from Lionsgate Entertainment and Pantelion had a three-day gross of $3.42 million.

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.

Guardians of the Galaxy claimed first place last weekend (Aug. 22-24) with $17.20 million. The blockbuster sci-fi superhero adaptation from Marvel returned to first place after finishing in second each of the past previous two weekends. Guardians of the Galaxy held up extremely well last weekend, as it was down just 32 percent from the previous weekend. Guardians of the Galaxy surpassed the $250 million mark last weekend and has grossed $251.46 million in 24 days. The film currently ranks as the third highest grossing release of 2014 thus far domestically, behind only Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Lego Movie. Guardians of the Galaxy is set to move into first place for the year within the next week.

Guardians of the Galaxy zoomed back into first place after two weeks in second. (Photo: Marvel)

After leading the box office each of the previous two weekends, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fell to second with $16.73 million. Paramount Pictures’ successful franchise re-launch was down a solid 41 percent from the previous weekend. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continues to exceed expectations in a big way with $145.54 million through 17 days of release. The film will pass the $150 million domestic mark within the next week and should continue to further stabilize next weekend with help from the Labor Day holiday.

Warner Bros. Studios’ If I Stay debuted in third with $15.68 million. The low-budget drama starring Chloë Grace Moretz opened on the low end of pre-release expectations and performed fairly well with its cost in mind. If I Stay opened slightly below the $16.10 million debut of last year’s Carrie, which also starred Moretz. Due in part to its different genre and in part to the limited amount of new wide releases over the next few weeks, If I Stay hopes to hold up better going forward than Carrie did.

Let’s Be Cops followed in fourth with $10.81 million. 20th Century Fox’s low-budget action-comedy held up well in its second weekend, as it was down 39 percent from its opening weekend. Let’s Be Cops has grossed $45.06 million in 12 days, in line with the lower end of expectations. Let’s Be Cops will likely continue to hold up well going forward thanks in part to no new comedies entering the marketplace the next few weeks.

Sony Pictures’ When the Game Stands Tall rounded out the weekend’s top five with $8.38 million. The low-budget drama from TriStar and Affirm Films opened just below pre-release expectations.

Meanwhile, fellow new release Sin City: A Dame to Kill For stumbled out the gate last weekend with a disappointing eighth place start of $6.32 million. The graphic novel adaptation sequel from The Weinstein Co. opened well below all expectations and a massive 78 percent below the $29.12 million start of 2005’s Sin City, which didn’t the advantage of higher priced 3D admissions. Unlike 300: Rise of an Empire earlier this year, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For was unable to overcome the long gap in time between it and its predecessor.

The Expendables 3 and The Giver claimed sixth and seventh place with respective weekend takes of $6.49 million and $6.43 million. The two films were separated by just $51,145 for the period. The Expendables 3 fell a sharp 59 percent from last weekend, while Weinstein’s The Giver was down a reasonable 48 percent. Respective 10-day totals stand at a very disappointing $27.40 million for The Expendables 3 and at a solid $23.80 million for The Giver.

Inspired by a true story, When the Game Stands Tall tells the journey of legendary football coach Bob Ladouceur, who took the De La Salle High School Spartans from Concord, Calif. from obscurity to a 151-game winning streak that shattered all records for any American sport.

Michael Chiklis (center-left) and Jim Caviezel (center-right) When the Game Stands Tall. (Photo: Sony Pictures)

When the Game Stands Tall recounts the true story of the private, Catholic De La Salle High School football team that had broken records by winning 151 consecutive games from 1992-2004 based on the book by Neil Hayes. But the story begins when some setbacks threaten their 2004-2005 season.

First, coach Bob Ladouceur (Jim Caviezel) suffers a heart attack. Then former star linebacker Terrance T.K. Kelly (Stephan James) is murdered in a shooting before leaving for college. Reeling from the setbacks, some of the team’s cocky new stars forget there is no “i” in “team” and the team loses its first two games of the new season before their spirit of brotherhood gets them back on track.

The big problem with the film is that it’s short of drama off the football field. Ladouceur makes a thorough recovery that allows him to quickly resume his coaching duties. Star running back Chris Ryan (Alexander Ludwig) is on a quest to break the California record for career touchdowns. He’s not that into it, but his overbearing father, Mickey (Clancy Brown), is obsessed, living out his own thwarted dreams through his son. Mickey’s passion is obscenely misguided, but at least it’s there. Ladouceur’s wife Bev (Laura Dern) pushes him to take a college coaching job, but otherwise remains in the bleachers.

How many heels does it get?

The script by Scott Marshall Smith is formulaic. As directed by Thomas Carter, the theme is about humility and approached mostly in religious terms, complete with chapter-and-verse quotations. For the most part, you find it hard to sympathize with the cast – mostly rich, white boys whose biggest worry is breaking a state record or what college they get into. The movie is largely underplayed and hoorah-free. Caviezel underplays Ladouceur to the point that you wonder how the players could even hear him, much less be inspired by him. The team members are fairly indistinguishable. Michael Chiklis does a solid job as Terry Eidson, Ladouceur’s assistant coach, but is mainly relegated to the sidelines. When the Game Stands Tall from Sony Pictures’ in-house, faith-based label Affirm Films is preachy and slow from the classroom to the locker room and even to the funeral of the slain former star. Ladouceur teaches religion classes and tries to use lessons from the gospels to inspire his students and players. Rated PG. Opens Aug. 22, 2014.

My rating: 3 out of 5 heels