Newcomers Can’t Stop “Compton” Dominance

By Kip Mooney • On • In News News 0

BOX OFFICE REPORT 

August 21-23, 2015(estimates from BoxOfficeMojo.com)

TOP 51. Straight Outta Compton ($26.7 million)2. Mission: Impossible 5 ($11.7 million)3. Sinister 2 ($10.6 million)4. Hitman: Agent 47 ($8.2 million)5. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. ($7.4 million)

Like pretenders to the throne, Straight Outta Compton vanquished all competitors, staying on top for a second weekend with an estimated $26.7 million. Despite competition from three new wide releases, none managed to touch the searing biopic of N.W.A. The film has already made more than $100 million, just the latest Universal release to pass that benchmark. By later this week, it will be the biggest music biopic of all time, passing Walk the Line. 

Mission: Impossible "“ Rogue Nation also stayed put, bringing in another $11.7 million. It has a shot at passing the original ($180 million), but that seems unlikely. It's still good enough to expect a sixth entry in the next few years, and a significant rebound for Cruise. Rogue Nation beat out the best-performing new entry Sinister 2. The horror sequel did fine enough, considering these fright flicks cost next to nothing to make. But it's nowhere near the opening of the original, which became a modest hit in 2012.

Hitman: Agent 47 became the latest failed video adaptation, opening with a weak $8.2 million. That's even lower than the 13 million that the Timothy Olyphant version did back in 2007. That one finished with just under $100 million worldwide. Don't expect anywhere near that from this reboot. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. rounded out the top 5, with a very un-stylish $7.4 million.

Outside the top 5: - This Weekend's Indie Champ: Grandma, a raucous comedy starring Lily Tomlin. The Paul Weitz film averaged $30,250 on four screens.

- Despite appealing aggressively to stoners, that demographic clearly stayed home. American Ultra opened all the way back in sixth place with only $5.5 million. Expect it to be a hit (pun intended) on video.

- Learning to Drive, one of the biggest crowd-pleasers from last year's Toronto International Film Festival, also scored an impressive limited debut. Opening on only four screens, the dramedy earned an average of $16,750.

Next week: Owen Wilson learns there's No Escape from bad thrillers and DJ Zac Efron learns These are Your Friends when he goes on tour. Neither will stop Straight Outta Compton, which will repeat at No. 1.

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About Kip Mooney

Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.

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