Fast & Furious screeches to US top spot
Story by Jack Foley
THE return of all four of its original cast members helped action sequel Fast & Furious – the fourth film in the franchise – to take the top spot at the US box office over the weekend (April 3-5, 2009), with a hot $72.5 million opening.
The figure, which represents a record for the franchise, was also the biggest of the year so far, easily surpassing the $59.3 million debut by Monsters Vs Aliens, and also representing personal bests for both of the film’s co-leads, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker.
Diesel and Walker reprised their roles as, respectively, underground racer and heist specialist Dominic Toretto and undercover cop Brian O’Conner, and were joined on-screen by love interests Michelle Rodriguez and Jordanna Brewster.
Justin Lin, who also directed the third film in the lucrative series, Tokyo Drift, returned to his position behind the camera, to guide the on-screen performance.
Originally slated for a summer 2009 release, the film subsequently debuted in April following a shrewd marketing decision from distributor Universal.
Describing that decision as “a smart move”, Nikki Rocco, distribution president, told the Hollywood Reporter: “The opening includes the fact that the business has been excellent, and there hasn’t been anything like this for a while – hard-core action that’s PG-13. So I think the timing was absolutely perfect.”
The plot of the fourth film finds Diesel’s Toretto returning to America to seek revenge for the death of a friend, and subsequently being reunited with Walker’s O’Conner to bring down a drug lord. It received lukewarm reviews but proved a popular fan favourite.
The film will open in UK cinemas on April 10 and will be preceded by a convoy of Fast & Furious themed cars driving through the streets of London on Wednesday, April 8. Further details
Elsewhere at the US box office, another new opener, the R-rated comedy Adventureland, starring Twilight‘s Kristen Stewart, debuted with a modest $6 million, to take sixth spot.
DreamWorks Animation’s Monsters vs. Aliens slipped from first to second, dropping a modest 44% to ring up $33.5 million and take its 10-day total to $105.7 million.
Supernatural thriller The Haunting in Connecticut was third, taking a further $9.6 million.