Straight Outta Compton is #1 with attitude!
The story of groundbreaking hip-hop group N.W.A. stormed the box office this weekend, putting STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON on top with an estimated $56 million opening!
The R-rated gaze into the rise and fall of Ice Cube and Dr. Dre's early rap career had the biggest opening for a musician biopic, more than doubling previous winner WALK THE LINE's $22 million debut (it went on to $119.5 million and a number of award nominations). STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON rolled up with a reported $28 million cost.
It's also the biggest debut for director F. Gary Gray, whose last efforts started with $21 million (LAW ABIDING CITIZEN) and $23.4 million (the GET SHORTY follow-up BE COOL). Critics and crowds were into STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON's beats with 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and a straight 'A' CinemaScore.
Tom Cruise's latest espionage exploits took a rest from being on top for two weekends as MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION slipped to second place with $17.3 million. The globetrotting mission has gathered $373 million around the world so far.
Opening in third was another dose of PG-13 spy action in THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. with $13.5 million. Director Guy Ritchie's riff on the 1960s TV show came with an $80 million reported cost and paired new Superman Henry Cavill with almost-Batman Armie Hammer. Critics shrugged at the retro thriller with 67% on Rotten Tomatoes, and audiences gave it a 'B' CinemaScore.
In the number four slot was FANTASTIC FOUR with $8 million, a considerable 68% drop from its second-place opening last weekend. The latest version of Marvel's heroes did cross $100 million worldwide, so that's… something.
In fifth place was Joel Edgerton's THE GIFT with $6.5 million. The R-rated thriller seems to be gaining word-of-mouth traction, losing only 45% of business from last week's opening. It's now at a 10-day domestic total of $23.5 million on a reported $5 million cost.
Marvel's miniscule superhero ANT-MAN was in sixth with another $5.5 million on its fifth weekend in theaters. It is up to $347 million worldwide, although that is still the second-smallest global total in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ahead of THE INCREDIBLE HULK's $263 million and behind CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER's $370 million..
In seventh was the latest Wally World journey VACATION with $5.3 million, followed by MINIONS in eighth place on its path to a likely $1 billion worldwide finish. The Meryl Streep rocker RICKI AND THE FLASH was in ninth (down 31% from last week's debut) and Amy Schumer's TRAINWRECK closed the list as it chugs toward $100 million.
Outside the chart, PIXELS got de-rezzed and SOUTHPAW got punched out. In limited release, filmmaker Noah Baumbach's new comedy MISTRESS AMERICA had a solid $23k per-screen average.
Next weekend delivers the Jesse Eisenberg stoner action-comedy AMERICAN ULTRA, the low-budget horror sequel SINISTER 2, and another shot at the videogame HITMAN: AGENT 47.
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| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Straight Outta Compton | $56 M | NEW |
| 2 | Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation | $17 M | $138.1 M |
| 3 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | $13.5 M | NEW |
| 4 | Fantastic Four | $8 M | $41.9 M |
| 5 | The Gift | $6.5 M | $23.5 M |
| 6 | Vacation | $5.3 M | $46.8 M |
| 7 | Ant-Man | $5.5 M | $157.5 M |
| 8 | Minions | $5.1 M | $312.9 M |
| 9 | Ricki and the Flash | $4.5 M | $14.6 M |
| 10 | Trainwreck | $3.8 M | $97.9 M |