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American Morning

"R"-Rating Keeps Teens From Movies

Aired August 20, 2001 - 10:41   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: It's been a tough summer for movies to take fire.

Here's Michael Okwu in New York, he has more. Hi, Michael.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Michael.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Daryn and Leon. Good morning.

At the box office this weekend, "Rat Race" ran close, but sequel stole the show. And when it was all over, nothing was sweeter than "American Pie."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EUGENE LEVY, "AMERICAN PIE" (on screen): The one that got away, huh, son? You two made quite the handsome couple on the internet. It was brought up at a PTA meeting.

OKWU (voice-over): Forget the popcorn, movie audiences wanted more "American Pie" this weekend. The college-kid comedy "American Pie 2" dished up another $21.4 million in its sophomore outing, and came out on top for the second weekend in a row.

The karate-chopping cop comedy "Rush Hour 2" stayed tied up in second place. The sequel to the 1999 hit starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker earned an estimated $19.2 million.

Another comedy, "Rat Race, " began its run in theaters in third place. The Las Vegas chase flick starring John Cleese, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Whoopi Goldberg brought in an estimated $11.8 million.

It was a $10.8 million weekend for the thriller in which Nicole Kidman plays host to ghosts. The thriller "The Others" landed in fourth place.

And a modern-day fairy tale ended the weekend in fifth place. "The Princess Diaries" locked up an estimated $9.5 million.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): When the original "American Pie" came out two years ago, it was aimed at adolescents but it was rated "R." To get in, teens pulled cineplex tricks, like theater-hopping and ticket- swapping, and theaters rarely checked IDs. The sequel, "American Pie 2, " also released with an "R"-rating, but the film and the kids who want to see it find a far different climate in theaters.

Here's, CNN's Paul Vercammen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, "AMERICAN PIE" (on screen): Who wants me to touch Amber?

SEANN WILLIAM SCOTT, "AMERICAN PIE" (on screen): Oh, yes.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "American Pie 2," just like the first one, is rated "R." No one 17 and under admitted without being accompanied by an adult.

PAUL DERGARABEDIAN, PRES., EXHIBITOR RELATIONS: The theaters have been much more diligent, at least in the last couple years, with checking ticket stubs, making sure that people aren't theater-hopping to go find an "R"-rated movie.

VERCAMMEN: A study by the show business research firm, Marketcast, shows stricter enforcement of "R" ratings rules at theaters can cause movies to lose up to 40 percent of their opening weekend box office.

What's more, how "R"-rated films are marketed to children has been restricted by the Federal Trade Commission.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Us teenagers are like dying to see them, and it sucks when you have to have your parents take you, when you'd rather see it yourself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's frustrating, because it seems like the movies are made for teens, you know.

VERCAMMEN: Did that keep you from seeing, let's say, "Scary Movie 2"?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I haven't seen that because it's "R." I'm not allowed to see "R" movies.

VERCAMMEN: "Scary Movie 2" is projected to gross just $70 million at the box office. It's "R"-rated predecessor did twice that. The "Scary Movie" filmmakers never tried to dodge the "R" rating.

MICHAEL SZYMANSKI, ZAPZIT.COM: It's harder to get the kind of humor that the teens are going to like without getting an "R" rating.

VERCAMMEN: There's been a recent string of bombs aiming young and rated "R," from "Freddie Got Fingered," to "Say It Isn't So," to "Valentine," granted those films received weak reviews.

Overall, just 22 of the top 100 grossing movies of all time have been rated "R." They've contributed just $3.7 billion to the top 100's total of $20 billion.

But such statistics ignore the sneak-in factor for teens in "R"- rated films.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of the time it's just easy. You just walk in.

SHANNON ELIZABETH, ACTRESS, "AMERICAN PIE" (on screen): Perhaps you could help me with my studies?

VERCAMMEN: "American Pie" cast members think their original should have made even more than $100 million at the domestic box office.

ELIZABETH (on camera): There were a lot of surveys done, and they counted ticket sales, and they counted heads in theater, and like half of the "Tarzan" audience ended up in our theater. We didn't see a dime from that.

THOMAS IAN NICHOLAS, "AMERICAN PIE" (on camera): It's an outrage, dude.

VERCAMMEN (on camera): So, dude, where's my ticket? That's a question many teens may be asking as they try to see "American Pie 2", in this era of increasing enforcement of the "R"-ratings guidelines.

Paul Vercammen, CNN Entertainment News, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OKWU: "R"-rating or not, "American Pie 2" is only the second this summer to spend two weeks at number one. The only other one was the blockbuster "Pearl Harbor." We'll have a full box office break down with analyst Marty Grove in our next "Showbiz Today Reports," that's at 11:35 a.m. Eastern, so check that out.

I am Michael Okwu reporting from New York. Both to you guys in Atlanta.

HARRIS: All right. Thanks, Michael.

KAGAN: Michael, thank you.

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