Fast & Furious Takes In $72.5 Million At Weekend Box Office
Fast & Furious took the checkered flag in the April 3 box office derby, taking in a whopping estimated $72.5 million in its debut, the biggest opening so far this year, the Associated Press reported. Universal’s Fast & Furious also raced to a record for April debuts.
That topped last weekend’s $59.3 million debut for DreamWorks Animation’s Monsters vs. Aliens, which slipped to second place with $33.5 million, raising its 10-day total to $105.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The Haunting in Connecticut, meanwhile, saw its take slip steeply, fading 58 percent to an estimated $9.6 million for third place and a total of about $37.2 million after 10 days of release, BoxOfficeMojo.com reported.
Vin Diesel Talks About ‘Riddick’ Sequel
April 3, 2009 by tcgames · Leave a Comment
Vin Diesel promised at least two more “Chronicles of Riddick” sequels, taking his sci-fi action hero into the depths of the Underverse and beyond. Diesel, whose new film “Fast & Furious” hits theaters this week, chose his words carefully, but he hinted at some epic fight scenes to come in the third Riddick installment.
“There will be long scenes and long portions, full acts of just Riddick against the beasts — or creatures — isolated, which will be very compelling,” Diesel told MTV News. “How that’s interwoven with the mythology set forth in ‘Chronicles of Riddick’ is what we’re waiting for from David Twowy, who’s almost done with the script.”
The series, which began in 2000 with “Pitch Black” last sent Diesel’s character Richard B. Riddick to theaters in 2004 in “The Chronicles of Riddick,” when the shiny-eyed hero took the throne of the Necromonger King. Though it received a lukewarm reception in the U.S., the film performed well overseas and ignited a successful video game series.
“It’s a ‘Chronicles of Riddick’ story told in the ‘Pitch Black’ fashion,” Diesel promised for the new sequel. Twowy scripted both previous Riddick movies, as well as the the video game “The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury,” so there should be plenty of continuity in the story’s vision. Where that vision continues to go, however, will remain to be seen when Diesel plugs in his creepy contact lenses once again.
Fast & Furious Might Make $48M Opening Weekend
Universal’s Fast & Furious will be “burning rubber” this weekend at America’s multiplexes as the original street-racing cast reunites after some sub-par chapters of the franchise.
The original The Fast & The Furious hit theatres in 2001 under the direction of Rob Cohen who had shown a knack for action with Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story ($35M US cume) and Sly Stallone’s Daylight ($33M US cume) and a savvy feel for bigger-than-life characters in his Golden Globe winning biopic The Rat Pack (which, if you’ve never seen you should put in your Netflix cue and prepare to be amazed by Don Cheadle’s turn as Sammy Davis, Jr.). In tow, he had a 34-year-old Vin Diesel in only his second starring role following the surprise low budget hit Pitch Black ($39M cume) and 28-year-old Paul Walker, who had just starred in Cohen’s forgettable The Skulls. Also in the cast was Jordana Brewster (As the World Turns) and a pre-Lost Michelle Rodriguez, whose most notable credit was a gritty little indie called Girlfight.
The result was box office jet fuel. Seemingly out of nowhere, The Fast & The Furious scored a scalding $40M opening weekend and reached $144.5M domestic and over $200M worldwide. But Diesel, whose signature line in the original movie is “I live my life one quarter of a mile at a time,” didn’t like the script for the sequel (or they wouldn’t pay his asking price depending on who you ask). That led to the 2003 sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious directed by Academy Award nominee John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood) starring Walker along with rapper Tyrese Gibson and Eva Mendes. Despite Diesel’s conspicuous absence, 2 Fast still delivered $127M in the US.
New ‘Fast & Furious’ Poster Revealed
December 22, 2008 by tcgames · Leave a Comment
Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker have reunited for “Fast & Furious,” the latest installment of the street-racing “Fast and the Furious” franchise.
Joining the pair will be Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster. “Fast & Furious” parks in theaters April 3, 2009.
Official plot description:
When a crime brings them back to L.A., fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto (Diesel) reignites his feud with agent Brian O’Conner (Walker). But as they are forced to confront a shared enemy, Dom and Brian must give in to an uncertain new trust if they hope to outmaneuver him. And from convoy heists to precision tunnel crawls across international lines, two men will find the best way to get revenge: push the limits of what’s possible behind the wheel.
Source: mtv.com
xXx Rides Again With Vin Diesel Returning
October 29, 2008 by tcgames · Leave a Comment
Last month, it was announced that Columbia Pictures, producer Joe Roth, director Rob Cohen and Vin Diesel were reteaming for XXX: The Return of Xander Cage. Now, Collider says that Cohen has revealed target dates for shooting and the film’s release:
“Yes, they’re doing it with me and producer Joe Roth. We made the deal recently, it’s named xXx: The Return of Xander Cage. We met the writers yesterday and we’re trying to get into production by late spring, to have it out for the summer of 2010.”
The original xXx starred Vin Diesel, Leila Arcieri, Asia Argento, David Asman, Joe Bucaro III, and Marton Csokas. Read more
