Nothing can stop "Straight Outta Compton."The N.W.A. biopic smashed expectations last weekend with its $60.2 million debut, and it showed little sign of slowing down this weekend, when it remained on top with an estimated $26.8 million and a ten-day total of $111.5 million. The movie wasn't hurt by any of the obstacles it faced this week, including the premieres of three new wide releases and several days of bad press over "Compton"'s airbrushing of N.W.A. co-founder Dr. Dre's history of abusive behavior toward women.
Despite all that, the combined total earned by this week's three newcomers added up to less than what "Compton" earned in its second weekend. "Sinister 2" opened in third place (behind four-week-old "Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation") with an estimated $10.6 million. "Hitman: Agent 47" came in fourth with an estimated $8.2 million. And "American Ultra" opened at No. 6 with an estimated $5.5 million.
Each of these movies opened well below already modest predictions. All probably would have done better if they hadn't been competing against "Compton." Still, their failure to draw ticket buyers speaks to some larger lessons -- six, in fact -- about this summer's box office:
1. Late August is Usually a Box Office Dead Zone
It was hard to look at this weekend's line-up of new releases and not see it as summer's last whimper, the last chance for films studios didn't really expect much from. Certainly, no one opens a movie near the end of August and expects it to make the kind of money that of a May or June release. In recent years, Labor Day weekend has been an "okay" time to release horror movies -- only because there's usually so little to choose from that undemanding horror fans will jump at the chance to see anything scary.
But that may no longer be true, since...
2. Horror Is No Longer a Guaranteed Moneymaker
"Sinister 2" is the latest production from Jason Blum, the producer who's made a mint from very-low-budget horror in recent years, with successes like "Paranormal Activity" and "Insidious" franchises. The "Sinister" sequel is an attempt to turn the 2012 hit into a similar franchise.
But that film, at least, had Ethan Hawke as the star; this one had the, um, less prestigious Shannyn Sossamon. Who knows, the movie cost so little to make that Blum will probably make a profit anyway, but even he seems to see the writing on the wall, having diversified over the past year into non-horror fare, including the art-house drama "Whiplash" (which won co-star J.K. Simmons an Oscar) and this month's thriller "The Gift" (which finished seventh this weekend with an estimated $4.3 million, for a three-week total of $31.1 million. A nice return for a movie that only cost $5 million).
3. Stop Making Remakes No One Really Wants
We're looking at you, "Hitman: Agent 47."This is the second time time Fox has tried to make this movie series happen; like "fetch," it ain't gonna happen. The 2007 "Hitman" made just $39.7 million in the U.S., but it made another $60.3 million overseas, for a worldwide total just a hair shy of $100 million. Apparently, that was enough to justify a return to the video game property eight years later.
Audiences may have short memories, but they have even tighter wallets -- especially when the same movie they turned down once before gets waved in their faces a second time.
4. Kristen Stewart Is Not a Box Office Draw...
...Except as Bella Swan or Snow White. Kudos to the actress for having quirky indie taste and for reuniting with Jesse Eisenberg, her co-star in the underrated indie "Adventureland," for the new "American Ultra." Indeed, it's admirable that she's happy to work outside of the realm of would-be blockbusters, especially since the rewards haven't been that lucrative. In the last 11 years, no movie she's starred in (except, of course, for the four "Twilight" films and "Snow White and the Huntsman") has cracked $20 million over its entire domestic run, and seven of her films have earned just $1 million or less.
So if the filmmakers thought that they'd draw her female Twihard fanbase to "American Ultra" -- a stoner action comedy that is pretty much Eisenberg's movie -- just because they cast Stewart as Eisenberg's love interest, then they were sadly mistaken.
5. Not All Bad Press Is Bad
Last week's smash "Compton" opening brought out of the woodwork a number of women from Dre's past who noted both his history of violent behavior and the fact that the new movie lionizing Dre almost completely ignored that history.
By the end of the week, Dre was forced to apologize "to the women I've hurt," and Apple (which paid Dre billions to absorb his Beats empire and make him an Apple Music executive) issued a statement insisting that Dre was a changed man since his N.W.A.days. None of this bad buzz seemed to affect the movie's audience, which last weekend was evenly divided between men and women and between viewers over and under 30. After all, who's going to stay home from a movie because of the story it doesn't tell? Nonetheless, it's never safe to alienate half your potential audience because...
6. One Quadrant Isn't Enough Anymore
That is, the studios need to stop trying to attract young adult males to the exclusion of everyone else, including young women and older men and women. Look at what's been this summer's big success story -- indeed, 2015's big success story -- which is Universal's domination of the marketplace with hits that have earned more than $2 billion since January 1. Not one of these is a comic book movie.Some, like "Jurassic World," are targeted at everybody with a pulse. Some are aimed specifically at women, older and younger ("Fifty Shades of Grey," "Trainwreck" "Pitch Perfect 2"), some at older men and women ("Unbroken," which made most of its money in 2015)," and some at younger, ethnically diverse audiences ("Compton," "Furious 7"). The only movie on the studio's slate that went primarily after young men, "Ted 2," was a flop.
And yet, every studio still thinks young men are the demographic to chase. That's why they put out "Agent 47" and "American Ultra," even when "Compton" and "Mission: Impossible" are still strong enough to steal their audiences. At least "Sinister 2" tried to grab older viewers as well as younger women, who are usually horror's primary audience. And that movie was released by Focus/Gramercy, which is a subdivision of... Universal.
So again, the question arises: Why is no one but Universal pursuing more than one quadrant? Hollywood may want to find the answer soon, especially if they want Universal's billion dollar-sized coffers.
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