Sometimes the drama at the box-office equals the excitement on the actual screen. This past weekend was one of those special times. Since the 1980’s, gangster rap pioneers N.W.A. have proven to be a crossover success, defying expectations since their inception. Straight Outta Compton depicts the rise and fall of the seminal group, which was the birthplace of pop icons Eazy E, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube. The film opened to an estimated $56.1 million dollars and a jaw-dropping average of over twenty thousand dollars a theater. Those type of max-capacity numbers are usually reserved for superhero and fantasy projects, with built in fanbases.

Hollywood is a follow-the-sheep industry and it will be interesting to see how many copycat productions come down the pipeline now. There has long been a Tupac biopic in development, which will certainly get pushed onto screens as soon as possible. There is also a slew of other compelling stories set in the world of hip-hop from the 80’s and 90’s, ranging from Public Enemy to Jay-Z. We will see how long it takes for the trend to take hold after this phenomenal opening.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation continued it impressive run with another estimated $17 million dollars added to its total. The Tom Cruise vehicle managed to lose only 40% of its previous week’s audience, while securing the second spot despite the debut of another spy based action film. This must feel particularly rewarding for Cruise who was attached as the lead in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. for years, but ultimately had to give up the part in order to film Rogue Nation. Good call Tom…

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. debuted in third place with an estimated $13.5 million dollars, which has to be a huge disappointment for Warner Bros, director Guy Ritchie, as well as stars Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer. Cavill has yet to show that fans want to see him outside of the Superman costume. This is also another huge hit to the the viability of Hammer (The Lone Ranger), who has failed to draw audiences to his action films. This is definitely a huge disappointment all the way around.

Coming in fourth place was the Fantastic Four, with an appalling $8 million dollars in only its second week of release. There isn’t much to say about this film, as the numbers and reaction are much louder than any words that can be typed. If Fox does stick to their guns and proceeds with a sequel, clearly there is nowhere to go but up. It is Fox’s move and we are all eagerly waiting to see what they do next with their Marvel property.

The Gift managed to hang in the top five for another week as it made an estimated $6.5 million dollars over the weekend. The movie, which was produced on a modest budget of only $5 million, shows that audiences have an appetite for thrillers, as long as it is well-crafted. 

Here are the complete Box Office results from the weekend of August 14th-16th, 2015:

TW	LW	Title (click to view)	Studio	Weekend Gross	% Change	Theater Count / Change		Average	Total Gross	Budget*	Week #
1	N	Straight Outta Compton	Uni.	$56,100,000	–	2,757	–	$20,348	$56,100,000	–	1
2	1	Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation	Par.	$17,000,000	-40.4%	3,700	-288	$4,595	$138,137,000	–	3
3	N	The Man From U.N.C.L.E.	WB	$13,535,000	–	3,638	–	$3,720	$13,535,000	–	1
4	2	Fantastic Four	Fox	$8,000,000	-68.9%	4,004	+9	$1,998	$41,961,000	–	2
5	3	The Gift (2015)	STX	$6,500,000	-45.2%	2,503	–	$2,597	$23,577,000	$5	2
6	5	Ant-Man	BV	$5,517,000	-30.3%	2,306	-604	$2,392	$157,568,000	$130	5
7	4	Vacation	WB (NL)	$5,330,000	-40.5%	3,088	-342	$1,726	$46,852,000	–	3
8	6	Minions	Uni.	$5,200,000	-30.2%	2,640	-483	$1,970	$312,969,000	$74	6
9	7	Ricki and the Flash	TriS	$4,570,000	-30.9%	2,064	+461	$2,214	$14,656,000	–	2
10	8	Trainwreck	Uni.	$3,800,000	-38.2%	1,998	-527	$1,902	$97,919,000	$35	5

 

What did you catch over the weekend? Was it any good? Let us know on the comment boards, , , and !

Source: Box Office Mojo