LOS ANGELES: “The Fate of the Furious” debuted in super-high gear this weekend, taking in $100.2 million on North American screens and roaring to record global revenues of more than a half-billion dollars, industry analysts estimated Sunday.
Exhibitor Relations said the latest chapter in Universal Studio’s “Fast and Furious” series accounted for nearly two-thirds of North American revenues over the three-day Easter weekend, leaving previous frontrunner “The Boss Baby,” a Fox/DreamWorks animation, in its dust with just $15.5 million in sales.
Behind megastars Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the latest “Furious” film opened exceptionally well in the rest of the world.
Led by China, which set a three-day record of $190 million, the film brought in $432.3 million in some 60 countries.
It was the No. 1 film everywhere, website BoxOfficeMojo.com reported.
The $532.5 million global debut, once North American revenues added in, would break the record of $529 million held by “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
It would also surpass such other box-office monsters as “Jurassic World” ($524.9 million) and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” ($483.2 million).
The film, directed by F. Gary Gray of “Straight Outta Compton” fame, also features Charlize Theron, Tyrese Gibson and hip-hop star Ludacris.
In it, Diesel’s Dom Toretto character is coerced to join forces with a cyberterrorist played by Theron, who turns him against his team.
For all its strong showing, the manic muscle-car-filled film earned nearly a third less in its first North American weekend than the previous “Fast and Furious” chapter, which drew $147.2 million.
Record-breaking debut for newest ‘Fast and Furious’ flick
Record-breaking debut for newest ‘Fast and Furious’ flick
