By Devvan Coggan, Entertainment Weekly
After three consecutive weekends at the top, Straight Outta Compton has finally relinquished its hold on first place, falling to the faith-based drama War Room during a sleepy Labor Day weekend. War Room took a clear lead after three days, earning an estimated $9.4 million in 1,526 locations. With a budget of just $3 million, War Room has outpaced expectations since its $11.4 million debut last weekend, and its domestic total is now at $24.7 million. The PG-rated War Room has benefited from being one of the only faith-based films in theaters recently, and it’s the latest Christian hit from brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick.
Even though Straight Outta Compton failed to secure first place, it still added a solid $8.8 million over three days to its record-breaking run. By Monday, it should cross $150 million domestically. The N.W.A. biopic was the breakout hit of late summer, opening to a whopping $60.2 million and becoming the biggest musical biopic of all time.
Of the two new releases, A Walk in the Woods came out on top, besting expectations to earn $8.3 million over three days and bringing its total to $10.3 million since it opened on Wednesday. The adaptation of Bill Bryson’s book, starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte, targeted an older adult audience and, according to Rentrak, 91 percent of the audience was over 25. This weekend’s other new wide release, The Transporter: Refueled, only debuted to $7.1 million over three days, even though it opened in 3,434 theaters — one of the widest Labor Day releases ever.
Meanwhile, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation spent its sixth week in the top five, earning an estimated $7.2 million over three days. The fifth Mission: Impossible film just crossed $500 million globally, with a domestic total of $180 million.
Outside of the top five, the animated Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevosopened in just 395 locations, earning $3.4 million over three days. The Mexican animated film, whose title translates to A Rooster With Many Eggs, earned an excellent $8,608 per theater.
All in all, Labor Day weekend marked a slow close to the summer box office race. This is the first weekend this year where not a single film made more than $10 million over three days.
So far, here are this weekend’s top five at the box office. Check back Monday for final weekend estimates.
1. War Room — $9.4 million
2. Straight Outta Compton — $8.8 million
3. A Walk In The Woods — $8.3 million
4. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation — $7.2 million
5. The Transporter: Refueled — $7.1 million
This story was originally published on EntertainmentWeekly.com.
