‘Straight Outta Compton’ tops the charts with $56.1 million

The N.W.A. biopic broke records with its $56.1 million haul at the weekend box office, more than doubling expectations set by Universal earlier in the week, according to tracking firm Rentrak.

“Straight Outta Compton” was directed by F. Gary Gray and features O’Shea Jackson Jr. playing his real-life father, Ice Cube, in his first starring role.

That’s a particularly rough start considering that “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” cost a sizable $75 million to produce.

Beyond the fandom around N.W.A. and the timeliness of the themes, Universal also launched a clever marketing campaign around the film, “Straight Outta Somewhere”, which allows social media users to insert photos in the iconic “Straight Outta Compton” album cover and write in a hometown of their choosing.

Another TV retread, “Man From U.N.C.L.E.”, opened in third place, far behind the rap music movie, with $13.5 million in estimated sales.

“Guy Ritchie made a terrific picture, but unfortunately it didn’t catch the audience this weekend”, said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros distribution executive vice president. The goal had been a modest $15 million. And in ninth place, Sony’s Ricki and the Flash, starring Meryl Streep, held on with just a 31 percent drop as it attracted $4.6 million, bringing its cume to $14.7 million.

But it’s Universal’s weekend to celebrate once more in what has become a banner year for the studio.

Projections had the film grossing around million, with its over two hour running time and R-rating. “We want to inspire people our age and younger than us, our generation, who didn’t necessarily grow up with the vinyls…we want to inspire them to speak up and use their art”, Hawkins said.

“Compton” followed that with a $24.3 million Friday, which is the fourth-highest opening day ever for an August release, according to Deadline.