A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : THE ELVIS FILE : Maybe He’s Really in ‘Honeymoon’!

Now to delve into one of the deepest mysteries in the world--why a movie shoots right to the top of the box-office standings on the very first weekend it’s released.

The movie: “Honeymoon in Vegas.”

The money: A $7.3-million gross in its first weekend out, knocking off Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven” from the No. 1 spot.

The question: Why?

Was it the cast? Nicolas Cage, Sarah Jessica Parker and James Caan star, but they aren’t known as dead-bang “openers.”

Maybe it was those trailers and TV ads and . . . Elvis? The glimpse of all those Elvises leaping out of an airplane in those white jump suits with lights is pretty irresistible to a country of Elvis freaks.

Anyway, we just had to know. So we set out to unravel the mystery of “Honeymoon in Vegas.”

Moviegoers leaving an afternoon show at Pacific’s Cinerama Dome Theatre on Sunset were asked why they simply had to see this movie. (An unnecessary caution: This is not a scientific survey.)

“I think Nick Cage is a great actor. I just wanted to watch him,” said actor Kiefer Sutherland.

“I wanted to see Nicolas Cage,” said Kathy Striegel of Hawaii.

“I like Jerry Tarkanian,” said Paul Rodriguez of Hollywood.

“Trailers, of course,” said Michael Owen of Hollywood. “And Nicolas Cage.”

“I had nothing to do. The previews seemed funny,” said Eric Gomez of South-Central L.A.

“There’s not much choice now,” said Jody Heltzel, Hollywood.

“We live on Kauai. We know where they filmed it,” said Roy Striegel.

“I heard about it on ‘The Tonight Show.’ It looked like it would be funny,” said Sharon Griffin, Santa Monica.

“Word-of-mouth,” said Glenn Gaylord of L.A.

But the majority of those asked said they came to gawk at the gaggle of Elvis impersonators.

“In the commercials, the Elvises looked pretty trippy,” said Raul Ramirez, Lincoln Heights.

“Any movie based around Elvis Presley is my kind of movie,” said Susan Duffy from Indianapolis.

“Wanted to see the flying Elvis,” said Steve Griffin, Hollywood.

“I am a fan of director Andrew Bergman’s quirky style,” said Bob Striegel of Hollywood. “Plus,” he added doing his best King impersonation, “I love Elvis.”

Mystery solved--Elvis does live.