Fast five had a midnight opening, April 29, in the United States.  But, the Vin Diesel, U.S. franchise success, opened in Russia first.

In fact Vin Diesel told Russian media, on opening night in Moscow, that he “…wanna shoot a movie in Moscow so badly…”, adding that “…when you see Fast Five, you’ll hear Mia and Brian talk about Russia a lot.”

Fast Five opened in more than 10 countries, in the week prior to opening in the U.S., and has become the top money maker in most of those countries.

So what’s the sign of the times? The big money for “Hollywood” movies is not to be found here in the U.S. anymore, no thanks to the bad economy.