‘Furious’ sequel is 2 fast for ‘Nemo’

The young male audience revved up for the street-racing sequel “2 Fast 2 Furious,” which crossed the finish line ahead of the more family-oriented animation hit “Finding Nemo.” Despite lackluster reviews and minus the star muscle of Vin Diesel, “2 Fast 2 Furious” opened with an estimated $52.1 million, $12 million more than the original’s debut, if Sunday estimates hold up. The original film went on to take in more than $144.5 million domestically, catapulting Diesel’s asking price per movie to $10 million and reinvigorating the career of its director, Rob Cohen.

Universal balked at Diesel’s asking price for the sequel and instead gambled on actor Paul Walker (who co-starred in the first film) and an ethnically diverse supporting cast of newer talent. Cohen, who also directed Diesel in last year’s “XXX,” was replaced by John Singleton as director.

The world of illegal street car racing again proved to be popular mainly among young males, with 75% of the audience comprised of men under 25. As did the original, the sequel brought in an ethnically diverse crowd, with Latinos composing nearly 40% of the audience, African Americans 16% and Asian Americans making up 8%.

“Finding Nemo,” meanwhile, held up very well, slipping to second place with an acceptable 34% drop from its debut to $45.8 million. Its total is more than $143 million.

Among openings of specialized films, the critically acclaimed independent New Zealand film “Whale Rider” got off to a solid start, grossing $135,435 in nine theaters in New York and Los Angeles. Boosted by good reviews, the film about a Maori girl’s determination to complete a male tribal rite of passage averaged $15,048 per venue.

The movie will add 50 screens on June 20, said Bob Berney, head of Newmarket Films, the movie’s U.S. distributor.

“Capturing the Friedmans,” a provocative documentary about a notorious child-molestation case, grossed an estimated $72,000 in five theaters in Chicago and New York. The Magnolia Pictures release, which debuted last weekend in those cities and has grossed $172,000, will open Friday in Los Angeles. United Artists’ “Together,” director Chen Kaige’s latest drama, is holding up satisfactorily, grossing an estimated $134,000 in its second weekend. The movie has brought in $230,000 domestically.

While “2 Fast” opened strong, it was no match for last weekend’s “Finding Nemo,” which debuted with $70.3 million. As a result, the tally for the top 10 movies was down slightly to $155.5 million, a drop of 6% from last week but up 56% from the comparable period last year, according to box office tracker Nielsen EDI Inc.

“The last three weeks we have been ahead but it’s still very early on in the summer race,” said Dan Marks, EDI executive vice president. So far, this summer is running 5% ahead of last summer with grosses of about $1.22 billion versus $1.16 billion by the same time last year.

Last summer’s domestic box office hit a record-breaking $3.7 billion.