Summer box office expected to have slow finish over Labor Day weekend

The box office is typically slow over Labor Day weekend and early tracking suggests this year will be no different.

New offerings “The Transporter Refueled” and “A Walk in the Woods” are expected to pull in less than $20 million combined, according to people familiar with pre-release audience surveys. That means there’s a good chance that Universal Pictures’ August hit “Straight Outta Compton” will top the box office for the fourth weekend in a row.

Still, despite a slower August, the summer box office is looking at a strong overall haul. Ticket sales are expected to reach $4.4 billion in the U.S. and Canada, according to film research firm Rentrak. That puts it in the running to tie for the second-best summer ever, falling just behind the $4.75-billion record set in 2013.

SIGN UP for the free Indie Focus movies newsletter >>

Some analysts suggest “Straight Outta Compton,” a musical biopic about N.W.A, will continue to dominate the box office, even as ticket sales for it decline.

The film has already collected a whopping $134.1 million in the U.S. and Canada, making it the highest-grossing musical biopic ever. It also posted the biggest August opening ever for an R-rated film, debuting with $60.2 million.

Faith-based film “War Room,” from Sony Pictures Entertainment’s TriStar label, will likely also holdover in the top five this weekend after opening with a better-than-expected $11 million.

Meanwhile, Broad Green Pictures will release “A Walk in the Woods” on Wednesday. The film, directed by Ken Kwapis (“He’s Just Not That Into You”), will likely collect $3 million to $5 million over the three-day weekend and $8 million in its overall six-day debut.

The adaptation of Bill Bryson’s 1998 memoir stars Robert Redford as the travel writer who hikes the 2,000-mile Appalachian Trail with an estranged high school friend (played by Nick Nolte). It co-stars Emma Thompson, Mary Steenburgen, Nick Offerman and Kristen Schaal. The film’s core audience slants toward older moviegoers.

On Friday, the film will go up against fellow new offering “The Transporter Refueled,” which is being released in about 3,400 locations in North America. The action film, which cost $22 million to make, is looking at a $10-million debut over the four-day weekend.

It was initially set for release in June, but the studio pushed back the date after doing a reshoot in May. The film stars Ed Skrein (“Game of Thrones”) as Frank Martin, a highly skilled professional driver known as the transporter.

The new release is the latest film from France-based EuropaCorp, founded by French director, screenwriter and producer Luc Besson. The company created a U.S. distribution and marketing joint venture with Relativity in February 2014, which allows EuropaCorp to fully control its distribution in the U.S. The company now has a catalog of more than 500 films, including the highly successful “Taken” franchise, which stars Liam Neeson.

Its “Transporter” franchise has grossed about $240 million worldwide for combined budgets of under $95 million. The three previous films, which starred Jason Statham, were released in fall of 2002, 2005 and 2008.

Analysts forecast that the box office will pick up again in the fall, with bigger film releases on deck including M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Visit” and young-adult sequel “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials.” Year-to-date, the box office is up almost 6%.

For more news on the entertainment industry, follow me @saba_h