Pussycat Purr-plexed by Josie's Bomb

If cats have nine lives, why can't movies? Josie and the Pussycats couldn't scratch up decent box-office results — it has banked a dismal $15 million since its April release — but star Rosario Dawson isn't crying over spilt Meow Mix. In fact, the actress hopes Josie's satirical humor and edgy 'tude will lure a bigger following in time.

"I think it's one of those movies that could hit later [on video] through word of mouth," she insists. "The people I know who saw the movie saw it three times. I think a lot more people would have gone to see it if they realized it was smarter, not just a little chick flick."

As a result, Dawson — whose kittenish co-stars include Rachael Leigh Cook, Tara Reid and Parker Posey — wouldn't mind sinking her claws into marketers at Universal Pictures. She thinks they failed to appeal to Gen-Xers who remember Josie's original incarnation as a campy TV cartoon. She also wonders whether the film's PG-13 rating prevented another target audience — preteen girls — from turning out at theaters.

"I loved that movie," declares Dawson, "and there's nothing I would change from that experience. I loved wearing those tails and ears all the time — although I'm not sure what that says about me!" What most bums her out about Josie's tepid reception is the fact that she can't make saucy references to the film without eliciting anything more than blank stares. "I look at it a little sadly," she says. "I have so many inside jokes from that movie and no one to share them with — because no one's seen it!"