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鈥淪traight Outta Compton,鈥� the film adaptation of the story of how the seminal hip-hop group N.W.A. came to be, triumphed at the box office over this past weekend, grossing more than $60 million.聽

鈥淐ompton鈥� did even better than expected financially and also received positive reviews. The movie stars actors including O鈥橲hea Jackson Jr. (son of N.W.A. former member Ice Cube) and Corey Hawkins.

What caused its financial success? Strong reviews helped, of course, and N.W.A. is still often called one of the most influential hip-hop groups of all time. Their album, also titled 鈥淪traight Outta Compton,鈥� is hailed as one of the most important of the genre. Considering recent events, moviegoers may have also wanted to take another look at the group鈥檚 songs, which famously discuss racial tensions in America.

But was the August release date of 鈥淐ompton鈥� also a factor in its box office success?

The summer movie season is always a high-profile time but August is often considered a sleepier interval in the movie business. While July, for example, included the arrivals of the sci-fi reboot 鈥淭erminator: Genisys鈥�; the anticipated sequels 鈥淢agic Mike XXL鈥� and 鈥淢ission: Impossible 鈥� Rogue Nation鈥�; the animated movie 鈥淢inions鈥�; the comedies 鈥淭rainwreck,鈥� 鈥淧ixels,鈥� and 鈥淰acation鈥�; the Marvel superhero film 鈥淎nt-Man鈥�; and the young adult film 鈥淧aper Towns,鈥� this August is much quieter. So far, the superhero movie 鈥淔antastic Four," the Meryl Streep musical film 鈥淩icki and the Flash,鈥� and the action movie 鈥淭he Man From U.N.C.L.E.鈥� have been released. The big upcoming releases include the action movie 鈥淗itman: Agent 47鈥� and the comedy 鈥淎merican Ultra.鈥�

So 鈥淐ompton鈥� most likely benefited from a lack of rivals at the box office. Its main competition this past weekend was the 1960s spy caper 鈥淯.N.C.L.E.,鈥� which was obviously a very different film and was hampered by negative reviews besides. 鈥淩icki鈥� and the thriller 鈥淭he Gift,鈥� both of which opened this past weekend, are more low-profile films and didn鈥檛 threaten 鈥淐ompton鈥� much.聽

Studios are no doubt beginning to look at August with more interest. The Marvel superhero movie 鈥淕uardians of the Galaxy鈥� came out in August of last year and became the third-highest-grossing movie of the year. In fact, almost all of the best August openings of all time are within the last 10 years. 鈥淭eenage Mutant Ninja Turtles鈥� bowed in August 2014 and did well, while 2011鈥檚 鈥淩ise of the Planet of the Apes鈥� triumphed in the later days of summer as well. Other recent August successes include 2007鈥檚 鈥淭he Bourne Ultimatum,鈥� 2009鈥檚 鈥淕.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,鈥� 2007鈥檚 鈥淩ush Hour 3,鈥� and 2006鈥檚 鈥淭alladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.鈥�

There are already a couple of high-profile releases on the schedule for next August, including the comic book movie 鈥淪uicide Squad鈥� and the Disney remake 鈥淧ete鈥檚 Dragon.鈥澛�