Box office preview: 'Straight Outta Compton,' 'Sinister 2,' 'Hitman: Agent 47'

After blowing past initial expectations and opening to a whopping $60.2 million, Straight Outta Compton is on its way to spending another weekend at the top. Even though three new movies are opening wide this weekend, none of them will come close to reaching the N.W.A. biopic, which is eyeing a second weekend of about $30 million.

The summer box office race is winding down (barring the occasional surprise hit, like Compton), and none of the new releases are expected to crack $20 million this weekend. Of the three new major movies, Sinister 2 is expected to do the best with a predicted debut in the mid-teens.

Here’s how this weekend’s box office race might play out:

1. Straight Outta Compton — $30 million

The rap group biopic left expectations in the dust, setting a record for the fifth biggest August opening ever and the largest R-rated August opening in box office history. It also helped Universal set yet another studio box office record, crossing $2 billion domestically. Compton should see a fairly standard drop of about 50 percent in its second weekend, but positive buzz and tremendous reviews could push it above $30 million.

2. Sinister 2 — $15 million

A Blumhouse and Focus Features film, Sinister 2 is a follow-up to the 2012 horror flick, which starred Ethan Hawke. The first Sinister opened at $18 million, and the sequel, which cost less than $10 million to make, is expected to follow in its footsteps with a predicted opening of $14 to $16 million.

3. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation — $11.2 million

Heading into its fourth weekend in theaters, Paramount’s Rogue Nation has already racked up more than $377 million worldwide, and it’s on track to cross $400 million soon. The spy flick could take a steeper hit this weekend with not one but two new action movies opening — but Rogue Nation does have the best reviews out of all of them. On average, the past Mission Impossible films have dropped about 35 percent in their fourth weekend, and if Rogue Nation does the same, it’ll end the weekend just north of $11 million.

4. Hitman: Agent 47 — $11 million

The first effort to transform the Hitman video game series into a film franchise starred Timothy Olyphant and opened to $13.2 million in 2007. With Rupert Friend replacing Olyphant as the titular hitman, Fox’s Agent 47 is eyeing a slightly lower debut between $10 and $12 million.

5. American Ultra — $7 million

Reuniting Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, Lionsgate’s stoner action-comedy is expected to open between $6 and $8 million. Even though it’s looking at a single-digit debut, American Ultra has the best reviews of the new releases, and its 40 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes is miles ahead of Agent 47’s 7 percent and Sinister 2’s 6 percent. But if American Ultra falls flat, another action-comedy could take its place: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is eyeing a second weekend just shy of $7 million after underperforming last weekend. If U.N.C.L.E. does better than expected, American Ultra may not even crack the top five.

•Universal becomes fastest studio to race past $2 billion at the North American box office

•Kristen Stewart & Taylor Lautner stage Twilight reunion at the American Ultra premiere

•Meet Hannah Ware, the new star who steals the show in Hitman: Agent 47

WANT MORE EW? Subscribe now to keep up with the latest in movies, television, music, and more.