Straight Outta Compton, the biopic of N.W.A., is a smash hit.
The film took in $24.2 million on Friday outpacing such other past August smashes as Rush Hour 2, Signs and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Depending on the source, the opening weekend box office is predicted to be between $55 and $65 million, putting it in the all-time top five August openings.
In just its opening day, Compton became the biggest opening ever for a musical biopic, passing the Johnny Cash film Walk the Line ($22.3 million opening weekend) and the Notorious B.I.G. film Notorious ($20.5 million opening weekend).
To show just how huge the film is, the rest of the films in the top ten for Friday only took in $21.0 million combined compared to Compton’s $24.2 million.
Straight Outta Compton is a Universal Pictures release, directed by F. Gary Gray and starring O’Shea Jackson, Jr. as Ice Cube (his real life son), Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, Neil Brown, Jr. as DJ Yella, Aldis Hodge as MC Ren, R. Marcus Taylor as Suge Knight, Paul Giamatti as Jerry Heller, Sheldon A. Smith as Warren G. and Rogeilo Douglas, Jr. as Chuck D.
