Box office preview: Straight Outta Compton set for third weekend at the top

The unstoppable Straight Outta Compton should once again top the box office for the third weekend in a row, and it shouldn’t see too much competition from this week’s three other wide releases.

With a predicted $15 million, Compton is the only film that’s expected to crack double digits this weekend. Zac Efron’s DJ tale, We Are Your Friends, leads the newcomers, with Owen Wilson’s No Escape, which opened Wednesday, following just behind. (Both No Escape and We Are Your Friends are currently tied with a 43 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating.) The Christian drama War Room is also opening.

Here are our predictions for this weekend’s top five at the box office:

1. Straight Outta Compton — $15 million

After two weekends at the top of the charts, the N.W.A. biopic is on track to spend its third at No. 1 too. F. Gary Gray’s Compton has been the breakout hit of August — and one of the biggest hits of the summer — and it’s eyeing a 40 to 45 percent drop, which should put it around $15 million for the weekend. Straight Outta Compton has already grossed more than $116 million domestically, and if it reaches a domestic total of more than $157 million, it’ll surpass Keenen Ivory Wayans’ Scary Movie to become the highest-grossing film by a black director.

2. We Are Your Friends — $9 million

Directed by Max Joseph (of MTV’s Catfish), We Are Your Friends stars Efron as an aspiring DJ trying to make it big in the EDM scene. We Are Your Friends, which was acquired by Warner Bros. for only $2 million, is expected to open in the high single digits.

3. No Escape — $8.5 million

Starring Wilson as an American father caught in the middle of a foreign civil war, this action-thriller opened Wednesday to a B+ CinemaScore and second place with an estimated $1.2 million, just behind Compton’s $2 million. For the five-day period, No Escape is eyeing a debut around $11 or $12 million, with a three-day debut between $8 and $9 million.

4. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation — $7.4 million

With the exception of Straight Outta Compton, the latest Mission: Impossible hasn’t faced too much competition since it bowed at the end of July, and as a result, Rogue Nation is poised to spend its fifth straight weekend in the top five. Rogue Nation, which has grossed more than $440 million worldwide, should see a drop of about 35 percent, giving it between $7 and $8 million for the weekend.

5. War Room — $5 million

This weekend’s wildcard is a faith-based family drama from Alex and Stephen Kendrick, the brothers behind other Christian hits like Fireproof and Courageous, both of which went on to gross more than $30 million domestically. Thanks to strong advance ticket sales, War Room is eyeing a debut around $5 million, but if it underperforms, the fifth place spot could instead go to The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

•Zac Efron has trouble identifying a High School Musical song during interview

•N.W.A lands first Billboard Hot 100 single of their career

•Owen Wilson on Zoolander 2, Gene Hackman, and playing an action hero again in No Escape

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