The faith-based film, “War Room,” made $11 million and almost took out “Straight Outta Compton,” which won again with $13 million. “War Room” played well to its audience and almost pulled an upset. It would have been quite a eye-opener had it won since it was bruise and battered by critics along the way
Faith-based films are often butchered by critics but still do well because those who go and see them do not care what the mainstream crowd thinks. They are often not well acted and that does not seem to matter either. The message matters and the demographic will go. The film was released by Sony’s Affirm Films.
The film was a winner because its budget was so low. It stars Alex Kendrick, who also wrote, produced and directed the film. But, to battle for the top stop with $11 million means the box office is taking a hit from other forces like school events and end of summer headaches.
Weekend, domestically
1. “Straight Outta Compton” – $13.2 million
2. “War Room” – $11 million
3. “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” – $8.3 million
4. “No Escape” – $8.3 million (total $10.2 million as it opened Wednesday)
5. “Sinister 2” – $4.65 million
“Compton” is now the highest-grossing music biopic as it sailed past “Walk the Line.” It now has won three in a row and the release schedule for the film paid off in fine fashion.
The Owen Wilson film, “No Escape,” was way off the mark and fell flat. The film also stars Pierce Brosnan. The Zac Efron film, “We Are Friends” also bit the dust in what is a tough time of year to release a movie. So, Hollywood looks for silver linings in all of this and “War Room” has that going for it as well.
But, faith-based and Hollywood do not always mix, so they play to their demographic and it can work. “War Room,” noted The Wrap, has its intended audience. It played much better in the Midwest, South and Southeast and mainly to women. The crowd was older as 85 percent were over the age of 25, while 60 percent were female. It did win Friday and was on its way to an upset but “Compton” came back strong on Saturday.
But, the overall box office was a dud this weekend, and September does not project all that well either. Hollywood and the world may already be looking ahead to December when the next “Star Wars” opens. It may take in a worldwide total that will be mind-boggling. Some are estimating more than $600 million. No records are safe and if the box office goes off its pace for a record year, that will set it on course and blow it away.
