Director F. Gary Gray Sets New Record with 'Straight Outta Compton' Sales

Director F. Gary Gray has set a new record following Straight Outta Compton's groundbreaking box office run. Gray has officially become the highest-grossing black director of a single film in domestic sales.

According to Vibe, the N.W.A. biopic brought in an estimated $157.5 million in the U.S. and Canada, edging out Keenen Ivory Wayans, whose classic Scary Movie film pulled in $157 million back in 2000, and Tim Story, who earned $154.6 with Fantastic Four in 2005.

Despite Compton's success in North America, the film has yet to break the international box office ground of Wayans and Story. Internationally, Compton raked up $24.9 million. Scary Movie and Fantastic Four saw much more profit overseas, bringing in $121 million and $175.8 respectively. Compton is the only film of the three that is based on a true story. The fact that it is centered on a hip-hop group further sets the film apart from the others.

Upon the movie’s opening weekend, the film topped the box office and surpassed previously reported debut projections by a long shot, better than doubling the original expected take.

Compton, which depicts Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella during their rise to stardom in the late 1980s and early 1990s, also centers on themes of racial tension, poverty and police brutality. One standout scene from the film is a portrayal of the group's infamous performance of "F*ck the Police" during a show in Detroit.

“There’s a humanity to the story that you wouldn’t normally associate with this genre of music,” Gray told Vice. “That was important to me. I want you to get to know the guys behind the tracks, behind the lyrics and beats, and get a sense of them as human beings. That’s what makes this special, because you can’t just google ‘N.W.A.’ and get these details.”

Gray shared his gratitude towards moviegoers on Twitter following the film's big screen debut.

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