“‘Straight Outta Compton’ is for Universal yet another example of a perfectly realized distribution and marketing plan that brought an important story to the big screen”, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Rentrak.
Advertisement
“Straight Outta Compton” is a biopic about the rap group N.W.A, pioneers of gangsta rap and one of the most controversial groups to ever grab a mic.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros’ PG-13-rated adaptation of the 1960s television series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. debuted in third place, behind Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, with a sluggish US$13.5 million.
Former L.A. City Councilman Dennis Zine, also an ex-LAPD officer who led the Police Protective League, has no love for “Straight Outta Compton” and added that it doesn’t help communities already suffering from bad police-public interactions.
Co-financed by Universal and Legendary, the film stars O’Shea Jackson Jr. as his real-life father, Ice Cube, Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, Aldis Hodge as MC Ren and Neil Brown Jr. as DJ Yella.
“The film has been seen by thousands of people at hundreds of screenings, all of which have happened without incident”, a Universal rep said, according to Rolling Stone.
Receipts are still being recorded, but overall the weekend saw about $141.2 million in ticket sales, down 1 percent from the same time frame past year, when “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” topped the box office with $29 million and $25 million, respectively. Its total haul after six weeks in theaters is US$312.9 million. Starring Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, and Hugh Grant, the film didn’t receive the warm welcome from critics and audiences that the aforementioned films enjoyed, which doesn’t bode well for its immediate box-office future.
Advertisement
The carrier got a boost after unveiling its iPhone Forever promotion, in which customers can receive the most current Apple (AAPL) 16GB iPhone 6 for $22 per month and then upgrade to the next model once it becomes available. “By later in the week, those estimates were bumping up to “$40 million – or more” (EW), “as high as $40-$50 million” (Deadline), $45 million (Box Office Mojo), and $51 million (Variety) – still a healthy under-appraisal of the final tally.
