‘Straight Outta Compton, the biopic about the rap group N.W.A, was a massive hit at the box office making over $56 million in the United States on its first weekend.
With a cast of basically unknown actors, including Aldis Hodge (as MC Ren), Neil Brown, Jr. (as DJ Yella), Corey Hawkins (as Dr. Dre), Jason Mitchell (as Eazy-E), and O’Shea Jackson, Jr. (as Ice Cube) —’Straight Outta Compton’ destroyed the competition in the box office. In comparison, ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E., starring Superman aka Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer, opened with just $13.5 million.
In addition, ‘Straight Outta Compton’ had the best opening weekend ever for a music biopic. The film earned an “A” CinemaScore rating, earning word of mouth and weak competition for the rest of August means ‘Straight Outta Compton’ is on track to make $150.6 million to become the most successful music biopic in United States history. ‘Straight Outta Compton’ also had one of the most diverse audiences of any number one movie this year. In its domestic opening weekend, the movie’s audience was composed of 46% black moviegoers, 23% white moviegoers, 21% Latino moviegoers, and 4% Asian moviegoers. In fact, the movie was such a hit that the movie industry is calling a “Four Quadrant” blockbuster, with an audience split evenly between men, women, and age ranges.
Director F. Gary Gray launched his career with Ice Cube’s hit movie ‘Friday,’ since then he has director several blockbuster thrillers including ‘The Italian Job,’ ‘Law Abiding Citizen,’ and most recently ‘Straight Outta Compton’.
Here are the estimated top 10 box office figures for Friday to Sunday, according to Box Office Mojo:
1. Straight Outta Compton* — $56.1 million
2. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation — $17.3 million
3. The Man From U.N.C.L.E.* — $13.5 million
4. Fantastic Four — $8 million
5. The Gift — $6.5 million
6. Ant-Man — $5.5 million
7. Vacation — $5.3 million
8. Minions — $5.2 million
9. Ricki and the Flash — $4.6 million
10. Trainwreck — $3.8 million
