Cyrus Langhorne
The long-awaited N.W.A. biopic, Straight Outta Compton, lived up to the hype and even exceeded box office predictions opening with nearly $60 million this weekend.
After only 3 full days in theaters, the flick managed to debut at number one and surpassed its $28 million budget.
“Straight Outta Compton” lifted the box office out of its August funk, debuting at No. 1 in the U.S. and Canada with an estimated $56.1 million. The movie posted the biggest August opening ever for an R-rated film, and it has become the No. 1 musical biopic. (Los Angeles Times)
Music mogul Dr. Dre called Hollywood newcomer Corey Hawkins, who portrays him in the film, a perfect fit this weekend.
“I gotta be honest, it freaked me out when I met him. We had a conversation. We went out to dinner at this restaurant over in Hollywood. We sat across the table and he started talking to me and I heard him like, ‘What the is that?’ I’m saying this shit internally. It kinda freaked me out. At the same time, it’s one of the things that let me know he was the perfect guy for the job.” (Beats 1)
Late N.W.A. leader Eazy-E‘s daughter E.B. Wright talked to SOHH this week about her overall support for Straight Outta Compton.
“We were filming it about a year ago and I spent some time on the set, just getting to know Jason Mitchell, who portrays my dad and he really just did a phenomenal job. I couldn’t be more proud and I don’t think there was anyone that could have played my dad better. The overall film is really good. Dr. Dre and Ice Cube and F. Gary Gary, director, they did a really good job. They were really sensitive with the whole story since my dad isn’t alive. His own personal part of the story, they had to sort of build around that so I’m just proud of it. There’s a lot that I feel was left out of his personal storyline but this movie was about N.W.A. as a collective and their brotherhood and how they started and everything they went through.” (SOHH)
Early box office sales projections had the biopic on pace for a $57 million weekend.
It’s the battle of the initials at the weekend box office, with N.W.A biopic “Straight Outta Compton” outperforming “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” “Compton” pulled in $24 million in Friday receipts, putting it on track for a $57 million opening weekend, according to studio estimates. Universal had pegged “Compton” for an opening between $25 million and $29 million, about half the haul it’s now expected to generate. (Variety)
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! A REAL POWERFUL MOVIE ABOUT NWA & REAL BLACK PEOPLE, SUPPORTED BY EVERYONE!!!!! GREAT REVIEWS EVERYWHERE!!!!
Awesome! I loved this movie. It’s really great. Well deserved opening!
cant wait to put it in the collection with boyz in the hood and menace to society and all the rest of the classics
I always considered Rza to be the greatest producer of all time, but
then Dre just dropped Compton: A Soundtrack which is simply stellar to
say the least. Thats the way a final album should sound and remain
entrenched in peoples minds, not the Wu’s A Better Tomorrow. I hope this
album has lit a fire underneath Rza’s ass.