The Fast And The Furious To Be Re-Released In Theaters

To celebrate the 15th birthday of the Fast & Furious franchise, Universal Studios will be re-releasing the original The Fast & The Furious franchise in 1,500 theaters on Wednesday, June 22.

The Fast & The Furious, a film directed by Rob Cohen, was originally released in theaters on June 22, 2001. Universal made the news official this morning as tickets were made available on Fandango.

When The Fast & The Furious was released in 2001, it was a surprise hit considering all of its factors. The movie packed a cast of largely obscure actors. Prior to The Fast & The Furious, Vin Diesel was noteworthy following roles in Saving Private Ryan and his cult favorite Pitch Black. Michelle Rodriguez was on the rise following her efforts in Girlfight and Paul Walker was still establishing himself with roles in Varsity Blues, Pleasantville, and The Skulls.

The Fast & The Furious took the number one spot at the box office in its opening weekend, hauling in $40 million dollars, before going on to gross $144.5 million domestically and $207.3 million worldwide. No, it wasn’t the global smash hit Furious 7, but it was the starts an absolute juggernaut.

“While we had the Back to the Future re-release synced to the day when Marty McFly and Doc Brown went back to the future on October 21, 2015, with The Fast and the Furious this is a case where it’s been 15 years and seven movies later,” said Universal distribution chief Nick Carpou, “The fanbase has grown exponentially, particularly in the social media age and the re-release provides an opportunity for the most recent generation of fans to experience the first film on the big screen for the first time.”

Said series producer Neal H. Moritz in a statement: “All of us who make the Fast and Furious movies know we are part of a family that spreads all around the world, and we are happy to invite our fans to revisit where it all began back on the big screen. While we are hard at work making No. 8, we are thankful to take this moment and celebrate the original that started us off.”

(via Deadline)