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.

Warner Bros. Pictures’ San Andreas demolished expectations in a big way last weekend with a first place start of $54.59 million. The Dwayne Johnson led disaster film proved to be critic proof and no doubt received an added boost from Johnson’s growing fanbase after the recent break-out success of Furious 7. The opening weekend performance of San Andreas was especially impressive when considering the relatively low levels of online buzz the film displayed in the weeks leading up to its release. However, competition will be fierce throughout June, especially from Universal Pictures’ Jurassic World.

Carla Gugino (l to r) as Emma and Dwayne Johnson as Ray in San Andreas. (Photo: Justin Boland/Warner Bros. Pictures)

Pitch Perfect 2 placed a distant second with $14.82 million. Universal’s successful musical comedy sequel starring Anna Kendrick was down 52 percent from the previous weekend’s three-day weekend. While Pitch Perfect 2 continues to be quite front-loaded, the film is still outpacing expectations with a 17-day take of $147.52 million. Pitch Perfect 2 could experience another sizable decline this coming weekend with both 20th Century Fox’s Spy and Focus’s Insidious: Chapter 3 entering the marketplace.

On the heels of its already lackluster debut, Disney’s Tomorrowland was down two spots and 57 percent to place in third with $14.30 million. Mixed word of mouth and the break-out performance of San Andreas both clearly took a toll on Tomorrowland last weekend. The pricy Brad Bird directed sci-fi film starring George Clooney has grossed $63.69 million in 10 days of release. Tomorrowland will need to stabilize soon if it is to eventually reach the $100 million domestic mark.

Warner Bos.’ Mad Max: Fury Road followed closely behind in fourth with $14.18 million. The critically acclaimed action film starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron was down 42 percent, which represented a solid hold given the added presence of San Andreas. Mad Max: Fury Road continues to perform on the high end of expectations with a 17-day take of $116.47 million.

Avengers: Age of Ultron rounded out the weekend’s top five with $11.40 million. The blockbuster superhero sequel from Disney and Marvel fell 47 percent from the previous weekend. Avengers: Age of Ultron has grossed $427.55 million through 31 days of release. It moved into 10th place on the all-time unadjusted domestic chart.

Meanwhile, Sony’s Aloha was off to a very soft start with a sixth place take of just $9.67 million. The Cameron Crowe directed film starring Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone and Rachel McAdams opened below its already scaled back expectations. Unlike San Andreas, which was able to use Johnson’s recent success with Furious 7 to its advantage, Aloha was unable to see any type of boost from Cooper’s recent success with American Sniper. The one saving grace for Aloha is that the film carried a modest reported production budget of $37 million.

Twentieth Century Fox’s Poltergeist placed in seventh with $8.06 million. The PG-13 horror remake was down a very sharp 64 percent from the previous weekend. Poltergeist has grossed $38.53 million in 10 days. That is towards the lower end of pre-release expectations.

Sony Pictures’ CHAPPiE led the box office last weekend with $13.35 million. However, the Neill Blomkamp directed sci-fi film about a robot police force debuted below its already modest pre-release expectations. The film’s performance also represented the smallest first place take since Ouija led last year’s Halloween weekend box office with $10.74 million in its second weekend of release. While it wasn’t expected to open anywhere near the $29.81 million start of 2013’s Elysium, CHAPPiE opened 55 percent softer than Blomkamp’s previous effort. Potential for CHAPPiE was no doubt hampered by largely negative reviews. It should be noted that the reported production cost forCHAPPiE was a reasonable $49 million.

CHAPPiE (Sharlto Copley, left) and his creator Deon (Dev Petal) in CHAPPiE. (Photo: Sony Pictures)

Warner Bros. Pictures’ Focus fell one spot last weekend to place in second with $10.01 million. The romantic heist film starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie fell 46 percent from its opening weekend; though it should be noted that the film took an additional hit from losing IMAX screens to CHAPPiE last weekend. It has made $34.56 million in 10 days.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was off to a solid third place start with $8.54 million. The ensemble comedy sequel from Fox Searchlight opened towards the higher end of expectations and registered the highest per-location average of any film in the top 10 last weekend with an average of $5,429. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel benefited from the overall goodwill for its predecessor and from ultimately opening in wide release this weekend as opposed to limited to moderate release.

The weekend’s other new wide release, 20th Century Fox’s Unfinished Business, was off to a much poorer start with a 10th place take of just $4.77 million. The Vince Vaughn led R-rated comedy opened below its low expectations and marks yet another disappointment for Vaughn. Unfinished Business opened 40 percent below the $7.94 million start of 2013’s Delivery Man and 72.5 percent below the $17.33 million debut of 2013’s The Internship. There is no question that Vaughn is currently nowhere near the box office draw he was in the previous decade.

Thanks in part to the limited amount of business generated from the weekend’s new wide releases, 20th Century Fox’s Kingsman: The Secret Service was down just 30 percent and two spots from the previous weekend to take fourth with $8.31 million. The Matthew Vaughn directed graphic novel adaptation starring Colin Firth continues to display very solid holding power, especially for its genre. With a stronger than expected 24-day take of $98.04 million Kingsman: The Secret Service is on the verge of reaching the $100 million domestic milestone.

In other box office news, Warner Bros.’ American Sniper passed the $336.96 million total gross of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 to become the highest grossing release of 2014 domestically. American Sniper has blown past all expectations with $337.10 million to date. The Clint Eastwood directed blockbuster starring Bradley Cooper took in $4.40 million .last weekend. That placed the film in 11th for the period and represented a 40 percent decline from the previous weekend’s performance.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and Fifty Shades of Grey both continued to have a presence at the box office with respective fifth place and sixth place takes of $6.66 million and $5.52 million. Paramount Pictures’ The SpongeBob Movie was down 38 percent from the previous weekend, while Universal Pictures’ Fifty Shades of Grey fell 48 percent. Fifty Shades of Grey and The SpongeBob Movie continue to remain as the two highest grossing releases of 2015 thus far domestically with respective total grosses of $156.36 million and $148.66 million.

Warner Bros. Pictures’ Focus debuted in first place last weekend with $18.69 million. However, the romantic heist film starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie did perform a bit below expectations. Focus opened a lackluster 32 percent below the $27.52 million start of 2013’s After Earth, though it should be noted that Focus was far less expensive and will likely hold up significantly better after opening weekend. With that said, the debut of Focus further suggests that Smith’s drawing power at the box office is nowhere near the level it once was.

Nicky Spurgeon (Will Smith, left) is an extremely accomplished con man who takes an amateur con artist, Jess (Margot Robbie), under his wing in Focus. (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures)

It was a tight race for spots two through five last weekend, as second place and fifth place were separated by just $1.68 million.

Twentieth Century Fox’s Kingsman: The Secret Service took in $11.88 million to claim second place for a third consecutive weekend. The Matthew Vaughn directed graphic novel adaptation starring Colin Firth was down 35 percent from the previous weekend. Kingsman: The Secret Service continues to inch closer to the $100 million domestic mark with a stronger than expected 17-day take of $85.83 million.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water held steady in third place with $10.82 million. Thanks in part to facing no new direct competition for family audiences, Paramount Pictures’ 3D animated film stabilized nicely last weekend, as it was down 35 percent from the previous weekend. The SpongeBob Movie continues to exceed expectations with a strong 24-day take of $139.94 million.

After leading the box office each of the previous two weekends, Fifty Shades of Grey fell three spots to land in fourth place with $10.56 million. Universal Pictures’ successful erotic romantic drama was down 53 percent from the previous weekend, but showed relative signs of stabilization after the previous weekend’s massive decline. While it’s proving to be very front-loaded, Fifty Shades of Grey has grossed a very strong $147.39 million in 17 days.

The Lazarus Effect debuted in fifth place with $10.20 million. The low-budget PG-13 rated horror film from Relativity Media had been widely expected to open slightly higher, but was still off to a solid start given its cost. It should also be noted that online activity levels before the film’s release were soft by horror film standards.

Disney Studios’ McFarland, USA held up nicely in its second weekend, as it was down just 29 percent to place in sixth with $7.84 million. The sports drama starring Kevin Costner continues to perform on the high end of expectations with $22.02 million in 10 days. That places the film 14 percent ahead of the $19.36 million 10-day take of last year’s Draft Day, which fell 42 percent in its second weekend to gross $5.71 million. Last weekend’s hold is a strong sign for McFarland, USA going forward.

Warner Bros.’ American Sniper continued to hold up very well with a seventh place take of $7.39 million. The blockbuster Clint Eastwood directed Best Picture nominee starring Bradley Cooper was down a slim 26 percent from the previous weekend. American Sniper has grossed a massive $330.82 million to date and is now on the verge of surpassing the $336.72 million current total gross of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 to become the highest grossing release of 2014 domestically.

The DUFF also held up well last weekend with an eighth place gross of $6.87 million. The low-budget PG-13 comedy from CBS Films and Lionsgate was down 36 percent from the previous weekend’s stronger than expected debut. The DUFF continues to exceed expectations with $19.77 million in 10 days.

Universal Pictures’ Fifty Shades of Grey held onto first place at the box office last weekend with $22.26 million. However, the romantic drama was down a massive 74 percent from its opening weekend’s three-day debut. Initial front-loading driven by the film’s pre-existing fanbase and Valentine’s Day along with mixed word of mouth and poor critical reviews are all having an effect on the film. Fifty Shades of Grey held up well during the midweek, so it is likely the film will perform relatively stronger on weekdays than during the weekend going forward. In the bigger picture, Fifty Shades of Grey is still performing very well and continues to run towards the higher end of expectations with $129.16 million through 10 days.

Dakota Johnson in Fifty Shades of Grey. (Photo: Universal Pictures)

Twentieth Century Fox’s Kingsman: The Secret Service took in $18.35 million to remain in second place. The Matthew Vaughn directed graphic novel adaptation starring Colin Firth was down 49 percent from its opening weekend. That represented a very respectable second weekend hold, especially with the previous weekend’s debut having been inflated a bit by the dual-holiday weekend. Kingsman continues to exceed expectations with a healthy $67.93 million in its first 10 days.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water held steady in third with $16.57 million. That represented a 47 percent decline from the previous weekend. While The SpongeBob Movie has been relatively front-loaded for a family film so far, the film continues to exceed expectations with $126.25 million through 17 days. With no new family films entering the marketplace in the next two weeks, The SpongeBob Movie could stabilize going forward.

Disney Entertainment’s McFarland, USA led last weekend’s openers with a fourth place debut of $11.02 million. The well received sports drama starring Kevin Costner opened on the high end of expectations.

The DUFF followed closely behind in fifth place with $10.81 million. The PG-13 comedy from CBS Films and Lionsgate exceeded pre-release expectations and was helped out by relatively high levels of online buzz. With no real new direct competition until Cinderella and Insurgentopen in March, The DUFF has a good chance of holding up nicely going forward.

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 stumbled out of the gates with a seventh place debut of $5.96 million. The R-rated comedy sequel from Paramount Pictures opened below expectations and 57.5 percent below the $14.02 million start of 2010’s Hot Tub Time Machine. Clearly, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 is a sequel that audiences weren’t excited about. Going forward Hot Tub Time Machine 2 is unlikely to hold up as well as its predecessor did.

Warner Bros.’ American Sniper continued to have a presence at the box office with a sixth place take of $10.05 million. The blockbuster Clint Eastwood directed Best Picture nominee starring Bradley Cooper was down 39 percent. American Sniper has grossed $320.01 million after 38 days of wide release and continues to march closer to becoming the highest grossing release of 2014 domestically, a mark which is currently held by The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 with $336.41 million.