'Straight Outta Compton' Isn't Playing in Compton

"Straight Outta Compton" is one of the biggest movies of the summer, bringing in more than $60 million at the box office, but residents of its namesake city can't see the film there.

That's because Compton has no movie theaters.

“It’s a low-income area, it’s been heavily disinvested in,” USC professor of sociology Manuel Pastor tells CBS-LA. “When you live in a community that doesn’t have that kind of retail, it’s a sign that the community is devalued and people within the community feel devalued.”

That may change, however. Officials in the city of 98,000 people south of Los Angeles are negotiating to build an entertainment district with a 16-screen theater.

“Seventy percent of that would be the movie theater, and then there would be an additional 30 percent retail space,” City Manager Johnny Ford tells the station. “As they’re coming in, retailers are making in Compton, and that’s what it’s all about.”