‘Straight Outta Compton’ tops weekend box office

This week, the film “Straight Outta Compton” dominated the box office, pulling in more than million dollars.

It’s the kind of opening usually reserved for so-called “tentpole movies” that trade in costumed heroes and special effects, not urban violence.

According to studio estimates Sunday, “Straight Outta Compton” blasted past box office expectations, while the stylish “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” struggled to find its footing.

According to Reuters, the movie also earned the distinction of having the biggest weekend opening ever in August for an R-rated flick since American Pie 2, which debut with $45 million in 2001.

The stylish action-adventure wilted at the megaplexes, bringing in an etiolated $US13.5 million from 3,638 theaters.

This time could have perhaps been better spent examining the similarities between N.W.A.’s complaints and those of say, Black Lives Matter protesters today, or something like that. It will still need to cover a lot more ground to turn a profit, but at least The Man from U.N.C.L.E. isn’t as deep in the hole as Fantastic Four, which is cratering in its second weekend. A Universal Pictures rep, who was monitoring attendance, said the screening drew well over 700 viewers.

Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer and Alicia Vikander star in Guy Ritchie’s reimagining of the 1960s espionage TV series.

“I hoped for somewhat greater quantity, fairly frankly”, stated Jeff Goldstein, government vice-president of home distribution for Warner Bros.

Yet the movie, which opened in the United States on August 14, comes off as strikingly contemporary as the nation grapples with a slew of recent deaths of African Americans in custody of law enforcement.

Just as N.W.A’s debut album stood out from the pack in 1988 when hair metal bands like Def Leppard and Guns N’ Roses were dominating the airwaves, “Straight Outta Compton” stands far apart from the majority of movies to land at the multiplex this summer.

It did not play in Imax or 3D, but did score in premium large format locations, grossing $US5.1 million, which represented 9% of the film’s weekend receipts. Universal had previously predicted a conservative US$25 to US$30 million opening.

“Fifty Shades of Grey”, “Furious 7”, “Pitch flawless 2”, “Jurassic World”, “Minions”, “Straight Outta Compton“.