If anyone had any doubts about theFast and the Furious seriesstill being viable, think again. Universal’s car racing saga turned insane action movie franchise is stronger than ever with the release of its eighth installment, as evidenced by theincredible dollar intakeit’s managed to pump into its coffers.The Fate of the Furious, after just 16 days in release, has already crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office.
According toBox Office Mojo, with the current weekend’s total factored in,The Fate of the Furioushas now grossed a grand total of $1.06 billion at the global box office. That already makes it the second highest-grossing movie in the history of theFast and the Furiousfranchise, with 2015’sFurious 7still on top, with $1.51 billion worldwide. However, with the rate at whichFast 8has been raking it in over the past couple of weeks, don’t be surprised if the movie winds up outgrossingFurious 7by the end of its run.
Domestically,The Fate of the Furioushas brought in $192 million so far, which is good enough for fourth place in the franchise.Fast Five($209 million),Fast & Furious 6($238 million) andFurious 7($353 million) have all done better domestically, but expect that to change in the coming weeks. Interestingly enough, critically speaking, this is not at all the most beloved movie the franchise has ever produced.The Fate of the Furiouscurrently has a 66 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, which trailsFast & Furious 6at 69 percent,Fast Fiveat 77 percent andFurious 7at 79 percent. Still, the slightly more mixed reception clearly hasn’t hurt the movie financially.
The Fate of the Furiousis now the second-highest grossing movie of 2017 overall, trailing only Disney’sBeauty and the Beast, which currently sits at $1.14 billion.Beauty and the Beastis winding down, though, so it seems more than likely thatFast 8will wind up overtaking it to become2017’s highest-grossing movie. But with the summer movie season essentially here there will be lots of stiff competition coming out very soon in the form ofGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,Alien: Covenant,Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No TalesandWonder Woman, among others.
Even ifFate of the Furiousdidn’t make another dime at this point, it would still be amassive successfor Universal and wholly justifies their plans for at least two installments in the franchise, in addition to some proposed spin-offs. They are currently working on a spin-off movie featuring Dwayne Johnson’s Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw that will help fill the gap beforeFast and Furious 9is ready to go. With the success ofThe Fate of the Furious, expect Universal to try and find a way to get as many spin-offs going as they possibly can, because they are going to want to milk this very viable franchise for every penny it is worth.
