A new arrival proved to be a surprise challenger, but F. Gary Gray's “Straight Outta Compton” was still the no. 1 movie in America when all was said and done. That makes it three straight weekend for the Universal Studios hit which took in another $13.2 million for an impressive $134.1 million in just 17 days. It also has an excellent shot to remain in the top spot over the upcoming Labor Day weekend with “The Transporter Refueled” and “A Walk in the Woods” as the only new releases hitting theaters.
Faith based drama “War Room” might have come in second after actually beating “Straight” on Friday, but it's still a major win for filmmaker Alex Kendrick and TriStar, the Sony Pictures division that released it. “War Room” earned $11 million over the three-day which beats the opening of Kendrick's last film, 2011's “Courageous.” That sleeper hit ended up with $34 million overall on a production budget of just $2 million. “Room” cost slightly more, a reported $5 million, but with low marketing costs its already a major hit for Kendrick and Sony.
Continuing a strong run in third was “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” with another $8.3 million and $170.3 million domestically. The fifth installment in the “Mission” series has now earned $479.3 million globally. Both Paramount Pictures and financier Skydance will be looking for Chinese moviegoers to boost the overall total even higher when it hits that lucrative market next month.
The Weinstein Company had solid results in fourth with a $8.28 million debut for “No Escape.” TWC only paid $5 million to acquire U.S. rights and, at worst, will break even. Not a bad result for a late August release.
“Sinister 2” took fifth with another $4.6 million and $18.5 million in just 10 days. At this point, the horror flick will come no where near the original $48 million the first “Sinister” earned in 2012.
Landing outside the top 10 at no. 12 was Zac Efron's “We Are Your Friends” $1.8 million in 2,333 theaters. Warner Bros. focused much of their campaign on social media, but it didn't translate whatsoever into ticket sales. The studio reportedly didn't pay much for U.S. distribution rights, but it's still one of the biggest bombs of the summer.
Box office actuals are released on Monday.
For more box office buzz and movie industry insight follow @TheGregoryE