For a series that nearly went direct-to-DVD, The Fast and the Furious has really managed to reinvent itself over the past half decade or so.
Not only are the more recent movies a huge improvement over installments like 2 Fast 2 Furious, but the series has managed to surpass itself financially with every entry since Tokyo Drift in 2006.
Furious 7’s Opening Weekend
So far, it would appear that Furious 7 is no different, opening strong with a $147.1 million domestic gross, and a $392.2 total worldwide (the biggest April release of all time). We’ll have to have to wait and see what the second weekend drop looks like, but if its momentum keeps up, the seventh entry will likely be the biggest one so far.
The previous two Fast movies saw roughly a 62% drop off during their second weekend. If that stays relatively the same for Furious 7, we’re looking at around $239.9 million in just the US alone. That would put it head and shoulders above Fast & Furious 6‘s domestic total. Abroad, Furious 7 still hasn’t opened in some territories, which means that it will likely continue to line Universal’s pocket for at least another month or more.
To put it all into perspective, in one day Furious 7 earned more at the box office than Tokyo Drift did in its entire run. Holy crap.
How Does it Compare?
Looking at the numbers, it seems likely that Furious 7 is about to cement itself at the top of that list for a few weeks… at least until Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters on May 1.
Will Marvel’s movie unseat it? Probably, but who knows for sure? Furious 7 has been something of a phenomenon so far.
