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American Morning

'Fast and Furious' Takes Top Box Office Slot

Aired June 25, 2001 - 11:42   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.
BILL TUSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a fast and furious weekend at the box office as the car racing movie surprisingly sped to the number one slot. Let's throw it into high gear with "Hollywood Reporter" movie analyst Marty Grove, joining us from the Left Coast.

Marty, would you call this a sleeper hit or what.

MARTIN GROVE, "HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": Bill, it is a sleeper, but really because Universal's marketing and distribution teams were wide awake. They knew just what to do with this movie. It wound up grossed just over $40 million. That's a slight revise from the weekend word that got out that it would be closer to $42 million, but it's still a fabulous opening.

Over $15,000 per theater and by the way, they only put it in 2628 theaters. You usually hear about these huge blockbuster openings for pictures that are playing in 3,000 or 3,500 theaters. So, Universal really picked and chose those theaters just right. They did everything right. The campaign was great.

And the big thing they did, Bill, that really mattered was back in the spring, when they were first going to open this film, Marc Schmuger, who is now the vice chairman of Universal, then the head of marketing, said you know, this film is so good, it would work so well in the summer. We should move it to the summer. Everybody said, hey, you're right. He is right. It's a hit.

TUSH: And that's why he got the promotion, I guess.

GROVE: Absolutely, well-deserved.

TUSH: All right, let's move down to the number two slot. Not to make a bad pun here, but did "Dr. Dolittle" do little?

GROVE: Well, it did a little less than they had hoped for. You know, on the Hollywood radar screen, people thought this would be the number one film. "The Fast and the Furious," as you said, was a sleeper, a big surprise, but it still came in, "Dr. Dolittle 2" with about $26 million plus, and that is not bad.

The problem it had was "The Fast and the Furious" took away the teenage audience and the family audience was split between "Dolittle" and "Shrek" and "Atlantis." Between the three films, family films, they had over $50 million of ticket sales but in the case of "Dr. Dolittle," only about $26 million-plus and it will play on, Bill, into the summer. Fox says, you know, don't worry, we'll come out.

TUSH: All right, let's go to an animal of a different sort. There's an art film out there called "Sexy Beast" that seems to be getting a lot of good word.

GROVE: Well, indeed, this is from Fox's Fox Searchlight Division, the specialty arm of 20th Century Fox, and it is already a big hit. This weekend, about $651,000, but it's only in 57 theaters. It will be expanding over the course of July. Searchlight bringing it along, and I don't know if you've noticed the reviews for it, they are reprinting in the newspaper word-for-word rave reviews from all over the country.

This is a picture that clearly has tapped into the marketplace. Ben Kingsley, there's Oscar talk for him already. People are talking about his character, the gangster that he plays, they way they were talking, let's say, Hannibal Lechter. So, Fox Searchlight has a hit on its hands.

TUSH: So, they're using the reviews in their ads, right?

GROVE: Yes, they are.

(CROSSTALK)

GROVE: Word for word.

TUSH: OK, staying with the newspaper, yesterday's "New York Times" arts and leisure section, full front-page story on Steven Spielberg and his film of "A.I." Give us a little preview.

GROVE: Well, "A.I." is a fabulous movie. I enjoyed it myself. I had a very early look at it. This movie is getting great reviews from everybody who had did have an early look, both "Time" and "Newsweek" loved it. The trade papers have given it very favorable review, and I would echo that.

The movie is opening in over 3,000 theaters this Friday and it is bound to be a picture that people talk about. There is enormous food for thought. This is a movie that Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg worked on for some years, for a period of maybe really 20 years back and forth, a little bit now, a little bit later.

The result, of course, is by Spielberg because Kubrick, unfortunately, passed away, but it's a great homage to Kubrick, it's great film-making from Spielberg and certainly would recommend it. I enjoyed it. In fact, Bill, I would see it again and I don't say that very often, as you know.

TUSH: OK, the man in the know, Marty Grove. Always good to see you, buddy.

GROVE: Thank you.

TUSH: And when we return, Hollywood goes to the dogs and cats.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUSH: The stars were out this weekend in Hollywood, ruffing it at the premiere of the wild and woolly, "Cats and Dogs." Stars of the pet wars movie took a pause from their busy schedule to attend. Showing up were Charlton Heston, Elizabeth Perkins, the always (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Joey Pants and "Will and Grace's" Sean Hayes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN HAYES, "WILL AND GRACE": I like -- no, I don't have any pets right now, but I like both, but I'll probably get a dog. Sshh! Even though I play the cat. I mean a cat. I mean a dog. I mean a cat. I'll never say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUSH: And speaking of tales, later today the tale of "Tomb Raider" actor Noah Taylor, and Jackie Collins on her catty new Hollywood book called "Hollywood Wives: The New Generation." And doggone it, we're out of time. I'm Bill Tush up here in the rat race in New York.

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