China dethrones the US as the largest film market in the world: Fast and Furious 9 earned US$135 million at the Chinese box office, though local movies dominated during the pandemic
- Fast and Furious 9, or F9, was the first Hollywood film to crack US$100,000 on opening weekend in China since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame
- Wonder Woman 1984 and Soul were flops, but Godzilla vs. Kong bagged US$183 million
The Fast and Furious franchise has long been an international hit. And the latest film in the series is off to a strong start, even at a Chinese box office recovering from the pandemic.
Fast and Furious 9, or simply F9, earned US$162 million internationally over the weekend after its May 19 release, with US$135 million of that coming from China. It’s the first Hollywood movie since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame to crack US$100 million in its opening weekend in China. The movie, which was delayed more than a year, doesn’t open in the US until June 25.
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The last two entries in the main series, Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious, both grossed more than US$1 billion globally and around US$390 million in China.
F9’s early success offers fresh relief that big-budget Hollywood tentpoles can still perform well in a region that Hollywood has relied heavily on to boost global box-office numbers in recent years, but where local productions largely dominated during the pandemic.
The pandemic has greatly accelerated China’s box-office dominance over the US, which could also have major ramifications.
The Chinese cinema industry experienced an incredible rebound after the region’s thousands of theatres shut down for months during the pandemic. Local films did gangbuster business while Hollywood releases like Soul and Wonder Woman 1984 underwhelmed.
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