6 Reasons ‘Straight Outta Compton’ Shot Down Box-Office Record

“Straight Outta Compton” the biopic about iconic rap group N.W.A has been able to connect with older movie lovers as well as young hip-hop fans and that has made it hit over a $60.2 million since it release.

This figure came as a surprise to industry analysts who projected an opening of $20 million less, based on the fact that it is a rap-themed movie that might only appeal to their fans. But that wasn’t the case Instead, “Compton” made a debut figure bigger than those of summer blockbusters like “Ant-Man,” “Mission:Impossible – Rogue Nation,” “San Andreas” and “Mad Max – Fury Road.”

Today on Absolute Hearts we take a look at some of the reasons behind the electrifying debut of “Straight Outta Compton,” and here they are:

The music: The mainly African-American and white young males that made the music of N.W.A hugely popular despite limited airplay, turned out in force for the film. They were mobilized by the concurrent release of the soundtrack, the first album in 15 years from Dr. Dre, whose appearance with Ice Cube on the Grammys in February raised awareness early.

The release date: There hasn’t been a movie specifically targeting African-American audiences since the independent comedy “Dope” in mid-June, but that wasn’t the key. The key was that they were able to put out a dope movie at this particular time just like Universal distribution chief Nic Carpou said “The release date, coming at a point in the summer when some fatigue sets in for many movie lovers, worked because we delivered a film that was something special, something that got audiences talking about it”.

The film’s focus: What movie lovers were talking about, along with the performances, music and back story of the group’s origin, were the broader social themes addressed in “Straight Outta Compton.” Police brutality, overcoming socioeconomic obstacles and free speech rights all matter not only to African-Americans, who made up 46 percent of the audience, but to whites (23 percent) and Hispanics (21 percent) as well. Women also turned out and made up more than half (52 percent) of the crowd. Taking on those tough issues also helped with critics, who had the film at 88 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes.

Marketing and Social Media: Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and director Gray who co-produced the film, have significant social media followings and they reached out relentlessly to push the film and teamed with Universal’s red-hot marketing unit. For weeks, a meme based on the film “Straight Outta (Fill-In Your Own City or Mood) has had the Internet cracking up and it had witness stars like Ava DuVernay, Serena Williams and LeBron James jumped on the bandwagon and it has been downloaded over 5.4 million times and had trended at No. 1 two days in a row on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Ice Cube: He’s a bona fide movie star, with a resume that dates all the way back to “Boyz N the Hood,” which came out 24 years ago. More recently he’s been a familiar face in films like “Barbershop” and “Ride Along.” He also co-wrote the “Friday” films and there were several lines in “Straight Outta Compton” that were from “Friday” including “Bye Felicia!”

Timing: The passage of time helped mainstream movie lovers who might have been put off five or 10 years ago by the story of a group whose hits included “F-ck Tha Police.” Kudos should be giving to Universal and Chairman Donna Langley, who championed the project, but Universal’s Carpou said “the filmmakers deserve the most credit, for deciding that now was the time to push for it.”