The 2015 Summer Movie Season closed out on a very quiet note as TriStar’s War Room overtook Straight Outta Compton for the number one spot over the Labor Day weekend. Broad Green Pictures’ A Walk in the Woods hiked its way to an okay third place opening, EuropaCorp’s The Transporter Refueled sputtered in fifth place and Pantelion’s animated comedy Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos generated big numbers in limited release in eighth place.
No one expected the Labor Day weekend to be on the busy side. After all, people want to be out and about enjoying summer’s waning days. But even by lowered expectations, things were ugly at the multiplex. Not only was business off 28% from last year’s Labor Day weekend numbers, this weekend was also the first of 2015 that failed to have a single movie earning at least $10 million.
One film that did have people showing up was the faith-based drama War Room. Thanks to its successful grassroots campaign, one that helped the feature debut to a sizable $11.3 million a week ago, business was off only 18%. Now on 1,526 screens, War Room earned an estimated $9.35 million. Its overall total stands at $24.6 million. Depending on how well the movie holds, the $3 million production could make its way to the $50 million mark.
After ruling the box office for three weeks, Straight Outta Compton moved down to second place to earn an estimated $8.8 million from 3,097 theaters. Off 32%, the N.W.A biopic has cleared a great $147.7 million so far. The F. Gary Gray feature should cross the $150 million mark on Monday. In addition to its spectacular run stateside, Compton is beginning to pick up steam overseas as well. To date, the drama has earned $18.1 million from international markets.
The first wide release from Broad Green Pictures, the Robert Redford/Nick Nolte comedy A Walk in the Woods, arrived in theaters this past Wednesday to get a jump on the weekend. For the Friday-to-Sunday period, the R-rated feature earned an okay $8.1 million from 1,960 screens. Critics were mixed on the comedy, branding it with a 47% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes.
Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation landed in fourth place this weekend, its sixth overall in the top five. Ethan Hunt and his IMF team saw their blockbuster hit ease a slight 12% -the best hold in the top ten- to earn an estimated $7.15 million from 2,849 theaters. The fifth installment in the nineteen-year-old franchise has earned $180 million domestically and an additional $328 million from overseas.
Nipping at Rogue Nation’s heels was another action flick, EuropaCorp’s The Transporter Refueled with a stalled $7.13 million from a wide 3,434-screen count. The critics hated the new entry in the decade-old franchise, the first not to star Jason Statham. They gave the film a damning 18% approval on Rotten Tomatoes. Judging by its weak fifth place opening, ticket buyers showed little to no interest as well.
The last new arrival of note was the animated Mexican comedy Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos (A Rooster with Many Eggs). The release from Pantelion opened in only 395 theaters but it snagged a promising $3.4 million. The film’s $8,608 per screen average was the highest in the top ten.
The remainder of the top ten is as follows:
- No Escape (Weinstein) $5.44 million (-33%); $18.4 million
- The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (Warner) $3.4 million (-22%); $39.3 million
- Sinister 2 (Focus Features) $3.3 million (-28%); $23.7 million
- Inside Out (Disney/Pixar) $3.1 million (+133%); $348.2 million
The highest grossing films of the 2015 summer season were:
- Jurassic World (Universal) $647 million*
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (Disney) $458 million
- Inside Out (Disney) $348.2 million*
- Minions (Universal) $328.5 million*
- Pitch Perfect 2 (Universal) $184 million
- Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (Paramount) $180 million*
- Ant-Man (Disney) $173 million*
- San Andreas (Warner) $154 million
- Mad Max: Fury Road (Warner) $153 million
- Straight Outta Compton (Universal) $147.7 million*
*= still in wide release
Next weekend will bring the arrival of The Visit and The Perfect Guy.
