Box Office: 'Compton' Threepeats; Zac Efron's 'We Are Your Friends' Tanks

Yahoo Movies
Updated

Friends suffers the worst opening of all time for a Hollywood studio title going out in 2,000 or more theaters; Christian drama War Room rejoices in opening to $11 million from only 1,135 theaters to place No. 2.

By Pamela McClintock

The dog days of August saw Universal’s box-office champ Straight Outta Compton remain No. 1 for the third straight weekend with $13.2 million from 3,142 theaters, while Christian drama War Room did far better than expected in earning $11 million from a small footprint of 1,135 locations to come in second.

Elsewhere, Zac Efron’s electronic dance music drama We Are Your Friends forged few friendships, debuting to a dismal $1.8 million from 2,333 locations, the worst opening of all time for a new major studio offering opening in 2,000 or more theaters, not accounting for inflation.

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If there’s any solace, it is that Warner Bros. paid a modest $2 million to distribute the film in North America on behalf of Working Title Films and StudioCanal (still, it’s the latest in a string of summer titles from the studio to disappoint). We Are Your Friends, directed by Max Joseph (Catfish: The TV Series), placed No. 13 or No. 14.

We Are Your Friends stars Efron as a young DJ trying to break into the EDM scene and become a music producer. Wes Bentley and Emily Ratajkowski also star in the film, which earned middling reviews and a C+ CinemaScore from audiences. Tracking had suggested We Are Your Friends would open to at least $8 million.

Straight Outta Compton finished Sunday with a domestic total of $134.1 million in the latest victory for Universal, which is enjoying the biggest year in history of any Hollywood studio at the global box office.

Coming in No. 2 for the weekend was War Room, a needed win for Sony. It’s also the top debut for a faith-based title since Heaven is for Real ($22.5 million) in April 2014. Sony released the movie via its faith-based TriStar/Affirm label.

READ MORE: ’Faith-Based’ Is Not a Film Genre (Guest Column)

War Room, nabbing an A+ CinemaScore and costing a mere $3 million to make, is the fifth collaboration from brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick, the directing and producing team behind such Christian films as Fireproof and Courageous. The film, featuring an African-American cast, tells the story of a struggling family who searches for a solution through prayer. T.C. Stallings, Elizabeth Becka, and Noel Baker star.

Among the weekend’s other new entires, The Weinstein Co.’s political action-thriller No Escape, earning a B+ CinemaScore, grossed $8.3 million from 3,355 locations, putting it in a close race with Paramount’s Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation for the No. 3 spot.

No Escape, starring Owen Wilson, Lake Bell, and Pierce Brosnan, posted a five-day debut of $10.3 million after opening Wednesday to get a jump on the competition.

Focus Features’ Sinister 2, tumbling 56 percent in its second weekend to $4.7 million for a total $18.5 million, rounded out the top five. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. followed with $4.4 million in its third outing for a muted domestic total of $34.1 million.

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Hoping to catch up with Titanic in North America, Jurassic World rolled out again in 350 Imax locations over the weekend, taking in $3.1 million. That puts the blockbuster’s domestic total at roughly $643.1 million, still short of the $658.7 million earned by Titanic, the No. 2 film of all time behind Avatar ($760.5 million).

Disney and Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man likewise earned $3.1 million for a domestic total of $169.2 million and worldwide haul of $369 million.

The specialty box office saw the debut of Craig Zobel’s film adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien’s dystopian novel Z for Zachariah, starring Chiwetel Eijofor, Chris Pine, and Margot Robbie. Roadside Attractions opted for a day-and-date release in 31 theaters and on VOD, reporting theatrical grosses of roughly $56,000 (the movie is No. 6 on iTunes).