‘Straight Outta Compton’ Went Straight to the Top of the Box Office

With its unflinching look at race relations in America, box office smash “Straight Outta Compton” is a cinematic jolt that incinerates old prejudices about what kind of movies are commercially viable.

According to Fortune, Straight Outta Compton has claimed the highest opening for an R-rated movie in August, as well as the top opening for a musical biopic, nearly doubling the previous record-holder which was 2005’s Walk The Line which opened to $22.3 million.

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The film is named after the 1988 debut album from the group that gave birth to the gangsta rap genre and also launched the prolific careers of Ice Cube and Dr. Dre.

Straight Outta Compton is Universal’s sixth film to open over $50million in 2015. Warner Bros.’ “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”, another new offering, debuted in third with $13.5 million, on par with tracking estimates, reports the LA Times.

Last week’s championMission: Impossible, had a weekend breakdown of $20 million Friday, $19 million Saturday, and $15 million Sunday for its opening weekend.

Starring Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer and Hollywood “It” girl Alicia Vikander, U.N.C.L.E. received decent reviews from critics (67% on Rotten Tomatoes) and solid audience reception (81% approval).

Time may have hurt “The Man From UNCLE’s” appeal. With a budget estimated at roughly $80 million, Warner Bros. will have to hope for a robust global take, similar to those of director Guy Ritchie’s popular Sherlock Holmes adaptations with Robert Downey Jr.

African-American moviegoers comprised the largest share of the audience – 46 percent – the studio reported, but Compton also demonstrated real cross-over appeal with Caucasians making up 21 percent; Hispanics, 21 percent; Asians, four percent; and others, six percent. The top-grossing theater for the film was in Atlanta, but the next nine were in Los Angeles, which should come as no surprise after all the film is “Straight Outta Compton“.

In second place was the Tom Cruise starred action-spy film “Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation”, from Viacom Inc.’s VIA, -4.43% Paramount Pictures. Expectations going in were a $30-40 million.

Which tells the story of the origin of the one and only Ice Cube who we love so much. The $29 million production will likely be very profitable for Comcast Corp.s Universal Pictures and its financing partner Legendary Pictures LLC. The Noah Baumbahch-directed film made $94,000 over the weekend for a per screen average of $23,500.