By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com

The Weekend Report

Straight Outta Compton continued to diss the competition as it stayed atop session box office with an estimated $13.2 million. Of a trio of newcomers, only faith-targeted War Room generated strong response with a $10.8 million debut at 1135 spare rooms. The other new releases got creamed with the political thriller No Escape grossing $8.2 million and EDM drama We Are Your Friends gaining no beats at $1.7 million.

In the niches Indian imports included OK starts of $269,000 for Hindi Phantom and $72,600 for Tamil Thani Oruvan at 19 venues. Best of the exclusive freshmen was the Brazilian drama The Second Mother with $26,200 from four.

The frame generated about $88 million and dropped 21% from the immediate prior session and was 22% diminished from 2014. A year back the fifth weekend of Guardians of the Galaxy led with $17.1 million with As Above/So Below the top newcomer with $8.6 million.

The summer season closes up in eight days and this year due to calendar configuration gets an additional week of playtime. However, on a strict comparable week-to-week basis the season is presently 5% ahead of the 2014 but trailing the record 2013 gross by 13%.

The niche faith-based arena got a lift from War Room which tracking had anticipated would generate roughly $10 million. Like its predecessor, the yarn of a family in crisis had a modest budget, very targeted marketing and is likely to have a high multiple box office. The downside remains limited appeal in the international marketplace.

Studio exit demos identified the audience a 60% male with 85% of viewers aged 25-years and older.

No Escape had been scheduled for release earlier in the year and bounced around before landing on the late summer date. It jumped the weekend with a Wednesday debut that brought $2 million into the weekend stanza.

Most crushing was the response to We Are Your Friends, the odyssey of a young man aspiring to a life in the electronic music realm. Despite strong reviews from key critics the film could not overcome a terrible title and a late starting campaign. And to add insult to injury the studio decided not to release exit demos because it felt the polling areas were not reflective or illustrative of the picture’s overall strengths and weaknesses. The firm conducting the work tends to give an undue weight to Heartland and secondary markets that are ideal for the likes of War Room but not particularly helpful for a film that skews toward urban and upscale audiences.

Among the weekend’s alternative expansions Mistress America continued to maintain its niche appeal but The Diary of a Teenage Girl hit a wall. Also showing ongoing strength was Grandma that added 15 runs with an average close to $16,000.

Weekend (estimates) August 28 – 30, 2015
Title Distributor Gross (avg) % chng Thtrs Cume
Straight Outta Compton Uni 13.2 (4,210) -50% 3142 134.1
War Room Sony 10.8 (9,500) NEW 1135 10.8
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation Par 8.4 (2,710) -27% 3095 170.5
No Escape Weinstein Co. 8.2 (2,450) NEW 3355 10.3
Sinister 2 Focus 4.6 (1,660) -56% 2799 18.5
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. WB 4.5 (1,650) -39% 2706 34.2
Hitman: Agent 47 Fox 3.9 (1,200) -53% 3273 15.3
Jurassic World Uni 3.1 (2,510) 228% 1239 643.1
The Gift STX/D Films 3.1 (1,610) -27% 1934 35.9
Ant-Man BV 3.1 (1,820) -20% 1690 169.2
Minions Uni 2.9 (1,470) -24% 1976 324.8
American Ultra Lionsgate/Elevation 2.8 (1,020) -48% 2778 10.5
Fantastic Four Fox 1.8 (1,060) -53% 1675 52.7
We Are Your Friends WB 1.7 (740) NEW 2333 1.7
Ricki and the Flash Sony 1.7 (1,010) -42% 1716 23.5
Trainwreck Uni 1.7 (1,760) -32% 957 105.1
Vacation WB 1.6 (1,050) -46% 1555 54.9
Pixels Sony 1.5 (1,520) -29% 1005 71
Inside Out BV 1.4 (1,780) -16% 763 344.5
Shaun the Sheep Lionsgate/Elevation 1.1 (800) -28% 1358 16.3
Southpaw Weinstein Co. 0.7 (1,170) -39% 606 49.3
Mr. Holmes Roadside Attractions .43 (1,180) -26% 367 16.1
Mistress America Fox Searchlight .43 (2,880) 85% 150 0.91
The Love Affair ABS .42 (6,010) -37% 70 1.5
The Diary of a Teenage Girl Sony Classics .42 (520) 144% 795 0.92
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $81.80
% Change (Last Year) -22%
% Change (Last Week) -21%
Also debuting/expanding
Phoenix IFC/Films We Like .32 (2,190) -3% 144 1.5
The End of the Tour A24 .27 (1,060) -51% 256 2.2
Meru Music Box .26 (3,490) 51% 75 0.68
Grandma Sony Classis .30 (15,950) 162% 19 0.48
Phantom UTV .27 (2,890) 93 0.27
Le Mirage Seville .16 (2,450) -12% 67 2.1
Learning to Drive Broad Green .15 (6,610) 130% 23 0.24
Assassination Well Go .14 (6,710) -35% 21 1.5
Amy A24/Mongrel .10 (1,290) -30% 79 7.8
Irrational Man Sony Classics .10 (1,090) -54% 91 3.7
The Best of Enemies Magnolia 81,600 (1,410) -27% 58 0.66
Faraar Video Palace 78,200 (2,230) 35 0.08
Thani Oruvan ATMUS 72,600 (3,820) 19 0.07
Z for Zachariah Roadside 55,400 (1,910) 29 0.05
Unsullied Dreamline 51,700 (390) 133 0.05
Memories of the Sword Well Go 45,300 (2,260) 20 0.04
The Second Mother Oscilloscope 26,200 (6550) 4 0.02
Queen of Earth IFC 11,800 (5,900) 2 0.01
Zipper Alchemy 7,800 (520) 15 0.01
7 Chinese Brothers Screen Media 6,500 (2,170) 3 0.01
Domestic Market Share (January 1 – August 27, 2015)
Distributor (releases) Box Office Market Share
Universal (16) 2120.4 28.10%
Buena Vista (12) 1417.9 18.80%
Warner Bros. (22) 1238.4 16.40%
20th Century Fox (17) 759.6 10.10%
Paramount (9) 528.5 7.00%
Sony (10) 312.2 4.10%
Weinstein Co, (15) 244.1 3.20%
Lionsgate (12) 235.7 3.10%
Focus (10) 93.5 1.25%
Fox Searchlight (7) 93.4 1.25%
Relativity (6) 71.7 0.95%
Sony Classics (18) 50.4 0.70%
A24 (7) 45.4 0.60%
Open Road (5) 39.4 0.50%
CBS (1) 34.1 0.45%
Other * (246) 267.3 3.50%
7552 100%
* none greater than 0.4%
Top Limited Releases (January 1 – August 27, 2015)
Title Distributor Box Office
Mr. Holmes Roadside Attractions 15,652,951
Love & Mercy Roadside Attract/eOne 12,435,083
Baahubali Blue Sky 9,279,014
Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F FUNimation 8,369,893
Bajrangi Bhaijaan Eros 8,103,427
Amy A24/Mongrel 7,745,725
While We’re Young A24/Elevation 7,590,951
Whiplash * Sony Classics 7,543,077
I’ll See You in My Dreams Bleecker St/Elevation 7,408,635
Inherent Vice * WB 7,025,247
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl Fox Searchlight 6,730,093
Danny Collins Bleecker Street/Elevation 5,649,253
Foxcatcher * Sony Classics 5,399,596
True Story Fox Searchlight 4,719,695
The Water Diviner WB/eOne 4,209,762
What We Do in the Shadows Paladin/VSC 3,737,681
A La Mala Lionsgate 3,661,925
Spare Parts Lionsgate 3,645,983
Irrational Man Sony Classics 3,615,476
Mr. Turner * Sony Classics 3,524,452
* does not include 2014 box office
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Leonard Klady's Friday Estimates
Friday Screens % Chg Cume
Title Gross Thtr % Chgn Cume
Venom 33 4250 NEW 33
A Star is Born 15.7 3686 NEW 15.7
Smallfoot 3.5 4131 -46% 31.3
Night School 3.5 3019 -63% 37.9
The House Wirh a Clock in its Walls 1.8 3463 -43% 49.5
A Simple Favor 1 2408 -50% 46.6
The Nun 0.75 2264 -52% 111.5
Hell Fest 0.6 2297 -70% 7.4
Crazy Rich Asians 0.6 1466 -51% 167.6
The Predator 0.25 1643 -77% 49.3
Also Debuting
The Hate U Give 0.17 36
Shine 85,600 609
Exes Baggage 75,900 62
NOTA 71,300 138
96 61,600 62
Andhadhun 55,000 54
Afsar 45,400 33
Project Gutenberg 36,000 17
Love Yatri 22,300 41
Hello, Mrs. Money 22,200 37
Studio 54 5,300 1
Loving Pablo 4,200 15
3-Day Estimates Weekend % Chg Cume
No Good Dead 24.4 (11,230) NEW 24.4
Dolphin Tale 2 16.6 (4,540) NEW 16.6
Guardians of the Galaxy 7.9 (2,550) -23% 305.8
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4.8 (1,630) -26% 181.1
The Drop 4.4 (5,480) NEW 4.4
Let's Be Cops 4.3 (1,570) -22% 73
If I Stay 4.0 (1,320) -28% 44.9
The November Man 2.8 (1,030) -36% 22.5
The Giver 2.5 (1,120) -26% 41.2
The Hundred-Foot Journey 2.5 (1,270) -21% 49.4