War Room bests Straight Outta Compton in Labor Day box office race

After three consecutive weekends at the top, Straight Outta Compton 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, and it ended Labor Day weekend with an estimated $12.6 million. 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 $27.9 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 and $11.1 million over four to its record-breaking run. As of Monday, it’s only a few thousand dollars short of breaking $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 $10.5 million over four. Since it opened on Wednesday, its six-day domestic total is now at $12.3 million. 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 its audience was over 25. This weekend’s other new wide release, The Transporter: Refueled, only debuted to $7.1 million over three days and $9 million over four, 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 and $9.3 million over four. 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 Huevos opened in just 395 locations, but it earned $3.4 million over three days and $4.4 million over four. The Mexican animated film, whose title translates to A Rooster With Many Eggs, earned an excellent $11,190 per theater.

All in all, this 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.

Here are this weekend’s top five at the four-day box office:

1. War Room — $12.6 million

2. Straight Outta Compton — $11.1 million

3. A Walk In The Woods — $10.5 million

4. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation — $9.3 million

5. The Transporter: Refueled — $9 million

This post has been updated to reflect Monday’s updated figures.

• How the faith-based drama War Room became a sleeper hit

• $100 Million and Runnin’: How Straight Outta Compton became the season’s surprise hit

• Jurassic World crosses $1 billion internationally

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