Box Office: ‘Straight Outta Compton’ Tops Friday as New Additions Stumble

The weekend’s three R-rated newcomers — Sinister 2, Hitman: Agent 47 and American Ultra — can’t seem to find any summer sizzle.

But Universal and Legendary’s Straight Outta Compton, which topped Friday, is having a strong second weekend, taking in an estimated $8 million Friday, putting it on track to earn around $28 million and win the weekend. The N.W.A biopic will pass $100 million domestically by the time the weekend wraps up.

Another holdover, Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, now in its fourth week, looks likely to beat all three newcomers this weekend to take the No. 2 spot. It earned an estimated $3.4 million Friday for third place, but if it stays on course, the Tom Cruise starrer could earn nearly or just above $12 million this weekend, which would boost it ahead of the newbies.

Horror sequel Sinister 2 is the strongest of the three newcomers. It came in No 2 Friday, with an estimated $4.7 million. The film likely won’t reach the $14 million that was projected for this weekend, but, as with the original, the project was made in the Blumhouse microbudget model (for around $10 million), so a tally of about $11 million for the weekend isn’t bad. It earned a B- Cinemascore.

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Gramercy Pictures, Focus Features’ genre label, released the horror pic in 2,758 theaters this weekend. Ciaran Foy directed from a script by franchise creators Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill.

Fox’s actioner Hitman: Agent 47, starring Homeland’s Rupert Friend as an elite assassin, earned an estimated $3 million Friday. It’s also falling off its initial projections, and will likely take in about $8 million for the weekend, which should land it in fourth place. An adaptation of a popular video game, the actioner received a B Cinemascore.

Stoner action-comedy American Ultra, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, also didn’t light up the box office Friday, earning around $2.1 million. It too is opening quite soft, and will likely land below $6 million this weekend. The comedy, which stars Eisenberg as a stoner who discovers he was programmed as a secret agent, also received a B- Cinemascore.

That means Warner Bros.’ The Man From U.N.C.L.E., which opened soft last weekend, will take the No. 5 spot in its second outing, if it stays on track to earn in the $7 million range for the weekend. The Guy Ritchie 1960s spy movie grabbed an additional $2.2 million Friday.

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