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CNN Live Sunday
Preview of Summer Sequels
Aired May 04, 2003 - 16:49 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD:, CNN CORRESPONDENT The opening of "X2" this weekend opens a virtual flood gate of sequels hitting the box office this summer, and CNN film correspondent Paul Clinton joins me now with a look at the movie season to come. Good to see you, Paul.
PAUL CLINTON, CNN FILM CRITIC: Hi. How are you?
WHITFIELD: Doing pretty good.
CLINTON: Well, the number to beat this weekend was actually "Spider-Man". That opened this very weekend last year, made $114 million. So the $85.8 domestic take in for "X2" is very, very good, but didn't break the record "Spider-Man" had. However, it did make 69.3 international with a grand total of $155.2 million. So that's not bad.
This is the first movie that was internationally released all over the world at the same time and its full total last time $300 million. So in just this opening, it made half the box office it made for the first one in total.
WHITFIELD: Wow. But do you think the studio is happy with that? Were they expecting it to do better than "Spider-Man"?
CLINTON: I talked to the execs on Friday. They were being very cagey and told me they would be happy if it's 54, which is what the original "X-Men" made. But of course, they were very giddy. They were anticipating making well above $70 million. They were not saying they would break "Spider-Man", but they were expecting around $70 million domestically, so they did quite a bit better than they thought they would.
WHITFIELD: All right. Lots of other movies starting out this month. But is it officially already considered the summer season, and really, that comes a little bit later, doesn't it?
CLINTON: Well, technically it used to be Memorial Day to Labor Day, but Hollywood has moved that back and now it really is the first weekend of May when the box offices is counted. Sooner or later, it is going to be right after the Oscars, and we are going to have summer box office. They keep pushing it back. But the next big one, of course, is 10 days from now, and that is "The Matrix," and that's "Reloaded," which is the sequel which is -- so "X-Men" will reign supreme for the next week or so, and then "The Matrix" is going to come roaring into box offices. It is the most anticipated sequel since 1980's "Empire Strikes Back", which was the sequel to "Star Wars".
Now, this new one has $150 million budget and the original made $171 million in the box office. It is an R-rated movie. It made more in DVD and video rental and sales than it did in the movie release. It is still a R-rated movie, and so that is going to be something people have to look at. We are going to have kids badgering parents or the fake IDs or sneaking into theaters, but it is an R-rated film as well as the next one coming up which is "Terminator 2" 4th of July. And that's with, of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger. And he said he would be back, and he is. And he is back big time.
WHITFIELD: Wow. So "Terminator 2" and "Matrix," I mean, you look at these trailers, and you see the high-tech. I mean, honestly, that's what viewers want to see and that is what it seems these studios are going after, aren't they?
CLINTON: Well, they are going after a lot of high-tech and special effects, but also, they also are going for more character development and they are going for more well-matched, quite frankly, than they did in the past. I think "Spider-Man" last year taught them if you have a little upside kiss, if you have a little sexual tension, you can maybe get some of those adolescent girls to go with the boyfriends to the movies. And now "X-Men" has a little sex stuff with Jean and Wolverine, not sex but romance, and there's a little lip locking between Neo and Trinity in the "Matrix Reloaded." So they are trying to get the girls to go, too.
WHITFIELD: All right. Paul Clinton, thanks very much. That's high-tech movies. Always good to see -- fun to see but not the kind of stuff you end up seeing as real contenders in the Academy Awards. Good to see you.
CLINTON: Good to see you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 4, 2003 - 16:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD:, CNN CORRESPONDENT The opening of "X2" this weekend opens a virtual flood gate of sequels hitting the box office this summer, and CNN film correspondent Paul Clinton joins me now with a look at the movie season to come. Good to see you, Paul.
PAUL CLINTON, CNN FILM CRITIC: Hi. How are you?
WHITFIELD: Doing pretty good.
CLINTON: Well, the number to beat this weekend was actually "Spider-Man". That opened this very weekend last year, made $114 million. So the $85.8 domestic take in for "X2" is very, very good, but didn't break the record "Spider-Man" had. However, it did make 69.3 international with a grand total of $155.2 million. So that's not bad.
This is the first movie that was internationally released all over the world at the same time and its full total last time $300 million. So in just this opening, it made half the box office it made for the first one in total.
WHITFIELD: Wow. But do you think the studio is happy with that? Were they expecting it to do better than "Spider-Man"?
CLINTON: I talked to the execs on Friday. They were being very cagey and told me they would be happy if it's 54, which is what the original "X-Men" made. But of course, they were very giddy. They were anticipating making well above $70 million. They were not saying they would break "Spider-Man", but they were expecting around $70 million domestically, so they did quite a bit better than they thought they would.
WHITFIELD: All right. Lots of other movies starting out this month. But is it officially already considered the summer season, and really, that comes a little bit later, doesn't it?
CLINTON: Well, technically it used to be Memorial Day to Labor Day, but Hollywood has moved that back and now it really is the first weekend of May when the box offices is counted. Sooner or later, it is going to be right after the Oscars, and we are going to have summer box office. They keep pushing it back. But the next big one, of course, is 10 days from now, and that is "The Matrix," and that's "Reloaded," which is the sequel which is -- so "X-Men" will reign supreme for the next week or so, and then "The Matrix" is going to come roaring into box offices. It is the most anticipated sequel since 1980's "Empire Strikes Back", which was the sequel to "Star Wars".
Now, this new one has $150 million budget and the original made $171 million in the box office. It is an R-rated movie. It made more in DVD and video rental and sales than it did in the movie release. It is still a R-rated movie, and so that is going to be something people have to look at. We are going to have kids badgering parents or the fake IDs or sneaking into theaters, but it is an R-rated film as well as the next one coming up which is "Terminator 2" 4th of July. And that's with, of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger. And he said he would be back, and he is. And he is back big time.
WHITFIELD: Wow. So "Terminator 2" and "Matrix," I mean, you look at these trailers, and you see the high-tech. I mean, honestly, that's what viewers want to see and that is what it seems these studios are going after, aren't they?
CLINTON: Well, they are going after a lot of high-tech and special effects, but also, they also are going for more character development and they are going for more well-matched, quite frankly, than they did in the past. I think "Spider-Man" last year taught them if you have a little upside kiss, if you have a little sexual tension, you can maybe get some of those adolescent girls to go with the boyfriends to the movies. And now "X-Men" has a little sex stuff with Jean and Wolverine, not sex but romance, and there's a little lip locking between Neo and Trinity in the "Matrix Reloaded." So they are trying to get the girls to go, too.
WHITFIELD: All right. Paul Clinton, thanks very much. That's high-tech movies. Always good to see -- fun to see but not the kind of stuff you end up seeing as real contenders in the Academy Awards. Good to see you.
CLINTON: Good to see you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
