# Any truth to this Austin Powers trivia question? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 15, 2002, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-austin-powers-trivia-question/103781 "2002-04-15T17:49:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-austin-powers-trivia-question/103781/1 "2002-04-15T17:49:58Z")
I was watching the cheezy movie trivia slides while waiting for my husband to finish up his projection work, and one of them stated that the Austin Powers sequel (Spy who Shagged Me) made more money in its opening weekend than the first Austin Powers did in its entire run. I’m really not buying it, as I was still working in the business when the first came out and it was out and popular for quite a long time. Anyone know where I can find the info? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-austin-powers-trivia-question/103781/2 "2002-04-15T18:00:00Z")
According to The Movie Times, [_The Spy Who Shagged Me_](http://www.the-movie-times.com/thrsdir/thenumberones/austinpowers2.html) pulled down $54.918 million in its opening weekend. Looking at the [Movies of 1997 list](http://www.the-movie-times.com/thrsdir/moviesof97.html), I see that _International Man Of Mystery_ raked in a grand total of $53.868 million over its entire theatrical run. So, it’s true, but not by much. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-austin-powers-trivia-question/103781/3 "2002-04-15T19:21:15Z")
I ran a movie theater when the first _AP_ came out and it definitely had to qualify as a marginal/cult item upon first release, but little more. A lot of people didn’t seem to get it and though the film had some legs in metropolitan markets (like mine), it really earned its following when it was released on video. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-austin-powers-trivia-question/103781/4 "2002-04-15T21:37:08Z")
Bear in mind, the original “Austin Powers” was a solid success, but NOT a huge hit at the box office. It became a phenomenon only after it was released on video. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2002, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-austin-powers-trivia-question/103781/5 "2002-04-15T23:34:25Z")
Wow, that’s hard to believe. Very interesting though! Thanks for the links. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around a sequel making that much more money than the original – especially when they’re essentially the same, heh. I’m sure it must happen all the time though. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2002, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-truth-to-this-austin-powers-trivia-question/103781/6 "2002-04-16T01:30:31Z")
No problem. I find the Movie Times site very handy for box office figures, and you can find some interesting stuff on there. For example, you can read that [_Freddy Got Fingered_](http://www.the-movie-times.com/thrsdir/top60dir/top60Search.mv?Freddy%20Got%20Fingered) lost at least 60% of its audience each and every successive week following its premiere. You can also sort by best and worst gross. [Last year’s chart](http://www.the-movie-times.com/thrsdir/2001top20.html) tells us that, of movies released on at least 700 screens, the top grosser was _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone_, beating _Fellowship of the Ring_ by about $16 million, while the lowest-grossing major release was _Pootie Tang_ with a miserable $3.2 million total, followed by _Left Behind_ and _Glitter_, the shameless Mariah Carey vehicle that convinced her label to pay her to go away. Over 1,200 screens and only $4.2 million, sad sad sad.