*The box office reign of “Straight Outta Compton” is expected to continue for the second straight weekend, according to industry insiders.
The N.W.A. biopic exceeded predictions last weekend by opening with an impressive $60.2 million in the U.S. and Canada. As a result, The Los Angeles Times cites people familiar with pre-release audience surveys who feel “Straight Outta Compton will likely generate more money at the box office this weekend with at least $30 million made.
The Universal Pictures film’s competition includes new releases “Hitman: Agent 47,” “Sinister 2” and “American Ultra,” are all tracking to make less than $20 million each, the Times notes.
Directed by F. Gary Gray, “Straight Outta Compton” chronicles the rise of N.W.A. in the mid-‘80’s to the death of founding member Eazy-E. The film, which boasts original N.W.A. members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre as co-producers, stars O’Shea Jackson Jr. as his father Ice Cube, Corey Hawkins as Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, Neil Brown Jr. as DJ Yella and Aldis Hodge as MC Ren.
If estimates for “Straight Outta Compton” hold up, the film will continue Universal’s current hold on the domestic box office with its 13th weekend on top, following the success of movies such as “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “Furious 7,” “Jurassic World” and “Minions.”
“It seems that everything Universal touches at the moment is just golden,” Bruce Nash, founder and publisher of The-Numbers.com told the Times. “Their marketing department really is on fire, they just figured out how to connect with audiences with their films.”
The success of “Straight Outta Compton” and expectations of a repeat showing at the top of the box office comes as Universal adds 215 more locations, to show the music oriented drama. The additional screens will bring the total number of theaters showing “Straight Outta Compton in North America to more than 3,000.
Internationally, moviegoers can look for Universal to bring the film to Slovenia and Norway this weekend … followed by Germany, Britain and Ireland next week.
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