"Straight Outta Compton," the story of N.W.A, blew away industry expectations over the weekend with a $60 million debut.
Everything leading up to the film's opening was done up big. You couldn't go online without people talking about it, or creating their own "Straight Outta" memes on Instagram.
You couldn't turn on the TV or radio without bearing witness to the previews.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsbWEF1Sju0
The hype ran high. But expectations were another story, according to
.
"I actually think that the expectations were lower than they should have been," said Leonard, founder of The Black List. "The film did exceed even people's wildest expectations, including my own."
The reason behind this, he said, is an assumption about audiences.
"I think that there is an assumption that if you make a film about young black men that there is not the audience that there actually is for it," he said.
Considering all of this, can the film's wild success push Hollywood to stick to its diversity pledge?
'Straight Outta Compton' and Hollywood's diversity problem
Leonard alluded to Hollywood's lack of diversity in Tweets he posted during the opening weekend for "Straight Outta Compton."
Imagine the offers a director would get who opened a drama to $55MM in August... Which franchises will
be offered?
— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard)
Imagine the offers a director would get who opened a drama to $55MM in August... Which franchises will @FGaryGray be offered?
— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) August 16, 2015
Imagine the projects that would typically be offered to the previously unknown stars of a drama that opened to $55MM...
— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard)
Imagine the projects that would typically be offered to the previously unknown stars of a drama that opened to $55MM...
— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) August 16, 2015
Leonard hopes that "Straight Outta Compton" won't just break box office barriers, but break past the notion that there is not an appetite for people of color on screen.
"Hopefully people will stop looking at it as, 'these are one-offs that we are trying to replicate,' and just recognize that there is an opportunity to make films for a large audience," he said. "There's a real opportunity to make money by making good movies about historically underrepresented communities in Hollywood."
In addition, this isn't the first rodeo for
, the film's director. His track record of film success includes "Friday," "Set It Off" and "The Italian Job" to name a few. In a typical case, Gray -- and the film's three young actors,
,
and
-- should already have offers for their next hits. As of now, that doesn't necessarily appear to be the case. But that doesn't mean all is lost.
"History would suggest that in great success, there would be a great number of offers that would follow up," Leonard said. "I think time will tell."
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.