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Before Rush Hour 2, there was Rush Hour; and before Rush Hour there was Money Talks. What served as the launching vehicle for Chris Tucker’s career, after the horrible introduction into major action pictures that was The Fifth Element, Money Talks allowed Tucker to really cut loose with the potential he exhibited in Friday. His manic, screeching humor that lovably gets on your nerves was first amalgamated with over-the-top action in this film, which also starred Charlie Sheen. The film also served as the launching pad for Tucker’s Rush Hour director Brett Ratner.

Money Talks was very similar to Rush Hour, as its fish-out-of-water kinetic comedy was peppered with a generous helping of over-the-top action. Of course, Money Talks did not even come close to matching Rush Hour’s box office success as it pulled in a relatively slight $41 million dollars in domestic box office. Of course, what the numbers didn’t show is that the film experienced a 3.86 opening weekend to final tally multiplier, which is a very strong number for a film released in late August. Money Talks’ real success came at the video stores, where the film was a gigantic success. As always, the rental numbers that are available aren’t always up to date, but take it from someone who worked at a video store when the film was released, the film had staying power and received fantastic word of mouth especially among the key demographic of 13 to 30.

While some are surprised by the announcement of the project, dismissing the original as only a minor blip on the radar, Money Talks has a cult following much like the original Austin Powers had. At the same time, this is a proven formula that will feature a star in a familiar element. While Tucker might receive more money to make the sequel than was originally spent to make the original, he is a much bigger star now that can bring the crowds in. What remains to be seen is where can the story of the urban slacker turned reluctant Samaritan go? As they say, once a slacker always a slacker, but there’s very little questioning this film’s box office success. (Walid Habboub/BOP)

Vital statistics for Money Talks 2 Main Cast Chris Tucker Distributor New Line Cinema Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

Comparison films for Money Talks 2
Title	Date	Opening	Adjusted Opening	Screens	PSA	Adj PSA	Total BO	Adjusted Total	Mult
Rush Hour 2	8/3/01	67.41	71.94	3118	21619.00	22193.0	226.14	241.35	3.35
Rush Hour	9/18/98	33.00	42.42	2638	12509.00	15469.6	141.17	181.50	4.28
Money Talks	8/22/97	10.65	13.99	2005	5312.00	6712.3	41.08	53.96	3.86
Friday	4/28/95	6.59	9.13	865	7618.00	10157.3	27.39	37.96	3.93