Weekend Box Office: Zac Efron Finds Few Friends
by EG
Everyone knew that Straight Outta Compton was going be the number one film at the box office this weekend, but there were other surprises in the weekend's competition for ticket dollars.
This biggest surprise was just how few people wanted to see Zac Efron in a movie about LA club DJs. We Are Your Friends was expected to take in $8 to $10 million over the weekend. Instead, the movie sold only $1.8 million worth of tickets. That makes it the worst ever debut for a big-studio movie that's opened in more than 2,000 theaters.
A surprise in the opposite direction was the success of War Room. The Christian family drama was predicted to earn only about $5 million, but it earned $11 million. That was enough to take second place for the weekend behind 'Compton', which raked in another $13 million. The surprise should be a minor one, though, since it's clear that movies with a strong Christian message are able to find a reliable and modestly sizable audience.
The weekend's other new big-studio release, the actioner No Escape, earned $8.3 million, which was pretty much right on target with predictions. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation also earned $8.3 million in its fifth week, and Sinister 2 came in fifth place with a weekend take of $4.7 million.< /p>