(AllHipHop News) The highly-anticipated All Eyez On Me was expected to bring in around $17 million – $20 million in its first weekend of release, but the Tupac Shakur biopic surpassed that total.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Benny Boom-directed film grossed an estimated $27.1 million.
All Eyez On Me was released on June 16 which was also Shakur’s birthday.
The movie’s opening day haul was around $12.9 million.
“Our style of marketing is that we try to event-ize our properties as best we can. We selected Tupac Shakur’s birthday as the release date given the event nature around that and we took the opportunity to engage his fanbase through social media. We had a strategic campaign to engage in one or two clicks; social media provides a way of purchasing tickets quickly,” said Codeblack Film EVP Quincy Newell.
The $27 million total landed All Eyez On Me in third for the weekend box office.
Disney/Pixar’s Cars 3 drove into first place with $53.5 million.
The animated flick was followed by Wonder Woman’s third week gain of $40.77 million.
While All Eyez On Me was met with unfavorable reviews from critics (38/100 on Metacritic, 24% on Rotten Tomatoes), it scored well with moviegoers (A- on CinemaScore).
Acting newcomer Demetrius Shipp Jr. stars as Pac.
The rest of the cast includes Danai Gurira (Afeni Shakur), Kat Graham (Jada Pinkett), Jamal Woolard (The Notorious B.I.G), Dominic L. Santana (Suge Knight), Annie Ilonzeh (Kidada Jones), Jamie Hector (Mutulu Shakur), and Keith Robinson (Atron Gregory).
Check out a scene from the Tupac Shakur biopic #AllEyezOnMe featuring #2Pac & #DrDre recording the classic “California Love” in the studio. pic.twitter.com/95bagoj6Iv
— Yohance (@HUEYmixwitRILEY) June 16, 2017