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American Morning

Showbiz Today Reports: Joey Ramone Dies; 'Spy Kids' Still Tops Box Offices

Aired April 16, 2001 - 10:40   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A look now at the weekend box office and the death of a rock icon.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Michael Okwu, in New York, has those stories in our "Showbiz Today Reports" this morning.

Good morning -- Michael.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon. Good morning, Daryn. Good morning, everyone.

The founding father of punk rock has died. Singer Joey Ramone, the punk rock icon who lead the band the Ramones, died yesterday. The band formed in 1974, with Joey taking the role as lead singer. It was his signature yelp, melded with the group's three-chord thrash, that helped launch an explosion of other punk bands, like the Clash and the Sex Pistols. Ramone, who was battling lymphoma, was 49.

And more legal trouble for Sean "Puffy" Combs, soon to be known as "P. Diddy" Combs. The rapper was arrested Saturday night in Florida and charged with driving with a suspended license. Police pulled Combs over for making an illegal lane change while riding a scooter along Miami Beach's glitzy South Beach strip. It's unclear why the rapper's license was originally suspended. He was not jailed, but signed an agreement to appear in court.

Just one month ago today, a jury found Combs not guilty of criminal charges in connection with a 1999 nightclub shooting. The jury did find combs' protege, Jamal "Shyne" Barrow guilty of first- degree assault. He is scheduled to be sentenced today.

The Easter Bunny delivered a basket full of Easter joy to those "Spy Kids." Despite a slate of new releases, the mini-007s maintained their hold at the box office, and for a second week in a row, there was a spider nipping at their heals.

Here's a look at the weekend's box office.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OKWU (voice-over): The pint-size spy kids are still standing tall at the box office. They held the top spot for the third straight week, taking in an estimated $13 million. That Easter weekend gross brings the film's 17 day total to $68.6 million.

Along came Morgan Freeman in the abduction thriller "Along Came a Spider." He reprised his role as criminologist Dr. Alex Cross in the "Kiss a Girl" sequel; that film took in an estimated $11.3 million.

"Bridget Jones' Diary," starring Renee Zellweger as a lovelorn Londoner who sets out on some lusty misadventures eared an estimated $10.8 million dollars, landing in third place.

David Spade's raunchy comedy "Joe Dirt" debuted in the fourth spot, earning an estimated $8.2 million.

And rounding out the top five was Johnny Depp's drug lord drama, "Blow," taking in an estimated $8 million.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

In a box-office surprise, "Josie and the Pussycats" was a weak link this Easter weekend, landing in seventh place.

Speaking of weakest links, at 2:35 p.m. Eastern, we'll be joined by Anne Robinson, host of the highly-anticipated and highly-promoted new game show "The Weakest Link." The show combines aspects of "Survivor" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" You're not going to want to miss that.

I'm Michael Okwu, in New York. Let's go back to Leon, in Atlanta.

HARRIS: Thanks, Michael.

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