‘Straight Outta Compton’ Wins Box Office Weekend With $56 Million
Straight Outta Compton, the hip-hop biopic on the groundbreaking group N.W.A., hit the theaters on Friday, and the film hasn’t stopped bringing in audiences since. The film, which captures mega stars like Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, the late Eazy-E, DJ Yella, and MC Ren, took the top spot at the box office this weekend, at No. 1 with $56 million.
According to Business Insider, Straight Outta Compton exceeded expectations. Originally, projections had the film taking a sizeable $25 million at the box office for the weekend, but the controversial film was underestimated. The box office weekend gross isn’t the only huge accomplishment of the film — it also topped action legacy franchise Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, and that’s when it was playing in fewer theaters than M:I.
The N.W.A. film is not just bringing in fans of the hip-hop group, which launched the careers of hip hop’s finest acts, but it’s also a very culturally relevant film. The film anchors its backdrop on the Rodney King riots, and centers on police brutality that came out of that time.
The music, such as the controversial single “F**k Tha Police,” still rocks people to their core, 27 years after the single’s initial release. This speaks to our state of current events involving police unrest in our nation. The film is not only a cradle-to-the-grave biopic, but it acts as a very powerful mouthpiece for those that are fed up with police brutality.
Straight Outta Compton is making a big impression on critics, as well. Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers gave the film a near perfect score, with three and a half out of four stars. In the review, Travers writes, “Straight Outta Compton is epic, baby, an explosively entertaining hip-hop biopic that raps home truths about race and police brutality as timely now (think Ferguson) as they were during the 1980s in Compton, California.”
The film, just like N.W.A., has earned critics in the law enforcement, specifically the LAPD. As the Inquisitr reported, the Los Angeles police department complained that Straight Outta Compton puts police officials in danger. L.A. City Councilman Dennis Zine said of the film, “It’s a terrible time to release a movie like this. It adds fuel to the fire for hating cops.”
Some have chosen to blame Universal, the studio behind the film, for putting money over the safety of police officers. Universal Studios has offered to foot the bill for any extra precautions movie theaters will take to beef up security.
As for the box office numbers, M:I – Rogue Nation took in $17 million at No. 2, while new release The Man from U.N.C.L.E. took in $13 million at No. 3.
[Photo by Universal]
