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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 2015)
Page 8 August 19, 2015 Arts & ENTERTAINMENT “Straight Outta Compton,” the biopic about the rap group N.W.A. was number one at the box office last week. ‘Compton’ No. 1 in Movie Debut Rappers story resonates with public (AP) - The boys from Compton smashed opening weekend expectations. Universal’s N.W.A. biopic earned an astonishing $56.1 million in its debut, according to studio estimates Sunday. Director F. Gary Gray’s well-received film charts the formation and rise of the in- fluential rap group. It cost just $29 million to produce. N.W.A. members Dr. Dre and Ice Cube served as pro- ducers on the film, which has Ice Cube’s real son O’Shea Jackson Jr. playing his fa- ther. Dr. Dre also released the companion piece “Compton,” - his first new album in 16 years. Nick Carpou, Universal’s president of domestic distri- bution, said they were “elat- ed” with the results. Univer- sal had previously predicted a very conservative $25 to $30 million opening. “It really struck a chord with audiences. It’s a story that is resonating right now,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak’s senior media ana- lyst. “It was one of those re- cords that was an important work and a very important ex- pression of a particular view- point. To this day, that album has so much power.” Beyond the fandom around N.W.A. and the timeliness of the themes, Universal also launched a clever marketing campaign around the film, “Straight Outta Somewhere,” which allows social media users to insert photos in the iconic “Straight Outta Comp- ton” album cover and write in a hometown of their choos- ing. There have been over 5.4 million downloads to date and it trended No. 1 across Facebook, Twitter and Insta- gram for two days in a row.