"2 Fast 2 Furious," starring Paul Walker, Tyrese and Eva Mendes and directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker John Singleton, opened with 3,408 playdates, averaging $14,810 per theater. The cumulative weekend receipts pushed "2 Fast 2 Furious" ahead of its predecessor's ("The Fast and the Furious") opening weekend gross of $40.1 million, and the sequel is well on its way to overtaking the first film's cumulative domestic gross of $144.5 million.
The pedal-to-the-metal sequel was further noteworthy as the largest ever film opening the first weekend of June (a title previously held by "The Truman Show" with $31.5 million). The film also stands as producer Neal H. Moritz's best opening ever, out-earning his previous action hit "XXX's" $44.5 million three-day bow.
This newest benchmark adds to the list of records previously established by Universal in 2001: debuting five Number One films in a row and opening four Number One films in a row with all movies earning $40 million or more in their first three days of release.
"This is a great opening for this movie, proving that the success of the first film was no fluke," said Nikki Rocco, president, distribution, Universal Pictures. "The franchise has been embraced by audiences who continue to turn out and support the film and then tell their friends to do the same. Producer Neal Moritz is a fantastic, collaborative partner and he and director John Singleton did a great job in creating an exciting piece of adrenaline-pumping entertainment. Once again, the studio has demonstrated our ability to successfully tap into the youth culture, as we did with such films as '8 Mile,' the 'American Pie' films, 'Bring It On' and the original 'Fast and Furious.'"
"2 Fast 2 Furious" wasn't just embraced by high-speed fans in the United States. The film opened in Australia one day prior to its U.S. bow and commandeered the box office with an estimated four-day opening figure of $3.7 million (U.S.) at 210 playdates, a 48% market share. The impressive Australian opening weekend business is 119% bigger than "The Fast and the Furious"' debut and 110% larger than "XXX"'s opening. It is Universal's fourth biggest opening day in Australia, behind "The Lost World," "Twister" and "Liar, Liar."
Paul Walker returns in "2 Fast 2 Furious" as former cop Brian O'Conner, who teams up with his ex-con pal Roman Pearce (Tyrese) to transport a shipment of "dirty" money for shady Miami-based import-export dealer Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), while actually working with undercover agent Monica Fuentes (newcomer Eva Mendes) to bring Verone down. Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, James Remar and Devon Aoki are also in the cast of this new high-adrenaline adventure directed by John Singleton ("Boyz N the Hood," "Baby Boy") and produced by Neal H. Moritz ("The Fast and the Furious," "Sweet Home Alabama"), with a whole new line-up of dazzling high-performance vehicles ready to burn up the screen.
