The Fate of the Furious makes box office history with world record opening takings
The eight edition of the muscle-car action franchise, starring Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and Michelle Rodriguez takes US$190 million in China, the country’s biggest ever debut, adding to huge overseas ticket sales
Universal’s Fast & Furious 8, also known as The Fate of the Furious, fell just short of US$100 million in domestic receipts for its debut weekend but smashed the global opening record, industry data showed on Monday.
The eighth instalment of the high-octane action series starring Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriquez and Jason Statham took US$98.8 million in North America, according to industry monitor Exhibitor Relations.
It was a sharp drop from the US$147.2 million debut of Furious 7 in 2015 but strong performance overseas meant it was able to smash the Jurassic World record international opening of US$316.7, with a massive US$432.3 million from 63 international markets.
That included US$190 million in China – the biggest ever debut for any film in the world’s second largest economy – bringing its total global opening to US$532 million and breaking the previous record of US$529 million held by Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015.
“It’s a sign that a franchise built around muscle cars and odes to the importance of family is growing more global in scope,” wrote Brett Lang, senior film and media editor for trade magazine Variety.