June 18th in Elvis History

It’s June eighteenth, and on this day in 1964… *Viva Las Vegas* opened in theaters across the United States. Though its release schedule was unusual—first premiering months earlier in the Far East, then in Italy, and only later in America—the film quickly became a hit. It marked Elvis Presley’s fifteenth movie and his first on-screen pairing with Ann-Margret, whose chemistry with Elvis helped elevate the film's appeal. *Viva Las Vegas* eventually reached number fourteen on *Variety*’s list of top-grossing films and secured the number eleven spot for the year, bringing in over four and a half million dollars at the box office.