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Tag: Fast & Furious

  • ‘Fast X’ Revs Up Massive $319M Worldwide But Slows Down Domestically

    ‘Fast X’ Revs Up Massive $319M Worldwide But Slows Down Domestically

    It looks like Fast X is still making a splash internationally, as while it didn’t beat the previous entry domestically, it has revved up quite a bit of momentum at the global box office. It highlights that some franchises may face their own slowdown but that isn’t always the case for every single market, especially with how some viewed the international development in Eastern markets for MArvel Studios’ more sci-fi-oriented filmmaking in the last few years.

    Still, Fast X has pulled in $318.9M worldwide, which is a good start even if it only pulled in $67.5M domestically. The international bow makes it the second largest release of the year with The Super Mario Bros. Movie still holding on to the top spot at $377M. Though, it is the third-highest opening for a Fast and Furious film. Still, it had the biggest international opening of any film so far.

    The film actually had an impressive opening in China at $78.3M, which after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 also surprised might be a hopeful sign that the market is warming up to external films again. Though domestically, the film received a B+ CinemaScore, which commonly hints at a more positive but mixed reception and it is a lower opening than F9 during the pandemic.

    There is, however, one major issue this film is going to face and that is its hefty production budget. While during the pandemic many film budgets have spiraled out of control with the old $200M now hovering around $250M, Fast X has a bit of a bigger challenge ahead. Even with a massive opening this year, the film has to make quite a bit of cash due to costing $340M.

    That means, the film would have to make at least $640M just to cover its production budget and potentially around $850M to be considered profitable. while its international legs could be a factor, it’s still a long way to know if this film was worth its investment. To put it in perspective, the film costs more than Avengers: Infinity War and 10M less than Avatar: The Way of Water. So, the second weekend will be vital to see how far the franchise’s engine truly will run.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap via The Direct

  • ‘Fast X’ Heading for a Soft $66M Opening Weekend with a B+ CinemaScore

    ‘Fast X’ Heading for a Soft $66M Opening Weekend with a B+ CinemaScore

    It’s looking more and more like blockbuster fatigue is showing its fangs, as even the latest entry of the Fast & Furious franchise, Fast X, is kicking off its domestic run softly. Louis Leterrier is directing the latest entry in the franchise that came in with a soft B+, which means the action hit is getting some mixed reviews from audiences. It’s the same grade that F9 got previously during the pandemic but it’ll be curious to keep an eye on what this means for its box office.

    The film took in $27.5M and is currently 8% behind F9. With a B+ score, it seems like the film is likely going to roll out around $66M over the weekend. That of course isn’t great with Vin Diesel recently trying to promote that he’s decided they’ll spin out a trilogy out of Fast X, which originally was setting up the final entry to the franchise. It’s hard to say if the two-year wait and the overall soft embrace of the previous entry may have played a key factor in its box office.

    https://twitter.com/CinemaScore/status/1659788311685128192

    Outside of Super Mario Bros. Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, big releases have been struggling a bit this year. The latter is also showing another stronghold with a 46% drop even going up against this direct competition from Universal. Mid-budget investments have performed better than expected in April as people were preparing for the summer, but perhaps we’re about to face an average 100M opening moving forward with the franchise going above or below depending on the marketing push behind, as even former franchise giant, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, is only projecting around a $40M opening weekend.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Fast X’s Box Office Projections Hinting at a Strong International Bow

    ‘Fast X’s Box Office Projections Hinting at a Strong International Bow

    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has given Marvel Studios one of its best second weekends in a long-time, hoping to secure a bit more positive momentum for the franchise moving forward after bigger drops throughout the last year. Its first real competition is about to arrive with Fast X, the latest entry in the Fast & Furious franchise. While some have been praising it online, Fast X has opened to a soft 60% reviews on Rotten Tomatoes from critics.

    With a soft start critically, it seems that projections for its box office opening are a bit mellow going in, at least domestically. Projects have the film opening around $65M, which is quite a bit lower than what you’d expect from the tenth entry of a major film franchise. It would place it slightly lower than F9: The Fast Saga which opened to $70M during the pandemic back in 2021.

    Though, these films have a knack for massive international appeal. Current projects say that domestically it may only be around $60M but international release might go haywire at $235M. As such, it would be the third-best global release for the franchise. That also would put the film in similar shoes like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and The Twilight Saga: New Moon’s openings.

    What is pushing the film is opening in 81 markets including the always highly coveted China release While the market has been unreliable for Western releases, it still surprised many in how it’s currently pushing Guardians 3’s box office, which is still set to make around $33M if it keeps up the strong word-of-mouth. There’s a chance that it might also still keep some of its audience and keep Fast X at bay, but the weekend will tell.

    Source: Box Office Pro, Deadline, Rotten Tomatoes

  • Vin Diesel Seemingly Confirms ‘Fast X’ as First Part of a Trilogy

    Vin Diesel Seemingly Confirms ‘Fast X’ as First Part of a Trilogy

    You can always count on Vin Diesel’s enthusiasm to keep a franchise going even as everyone else expects it to wrap up. Originally, The Fast Saga was announced to wrap up with its upcoming eleventh film as production started on Fast X which would set up the final entry. There has been speculation these two films are more of a “Part 1” and “Part 2” deal, but it seems that Diesel has expanded upon his idea.

    On the red carpet for Fast X, the franchise’s main star has seemingly confirmed that the last entry is no longer setting up the final part but rather is the first of a three-part finale. So, it seems we are getting a trilogy to wrap up the mainline Fast Saga even if there’s a good chance he may just expand upon it if this is his way of promoting a new entry into the car-driven action franchise.

    It’s certainly a bizarre move as they made quite a big deal out of wrapping it up with these upcoming two films. There’s no word if director Louis Letterier will also return for the sequels after the fallout that occurred on production with original Fast X director Justin Lin. The film already has to make up a lot of money for the delays that occurred due to Lin’s exit and who knows how long this franchise will keep the engine going.

    Source: Twitter

  • The Final Chapter of the ‘Fast & Furious’ Franchise Finds Its Co-writers

    The Final Chapter of the ‘Fast & Furious’ Franchise Finds Its Co-writers

    One of the most financially successful franchises in box office history is gearing up for its last ride. The Fast & Furious franchise has fascinated fans since the beginning of the century but the end is in sight with Fast X headed to theaters this year and the creative team of the eleventh and final film starting to come together. It was recently reported that Fast X director Louis Leterrier was returning to helm the finale and now, according to Deadline, the film has found its writers.

    The Flash writer Christina Hodson and The Cloverfield Paradox scribe Oren Uziel are teaming up to write the script for the eleventh Fast film which, according to Deadline, is “being described as a companion to Fast X.” Justin Lin directed and co-wrote both F9 and Fast X before departing the franchise last year after some unpleasant business with franchise star Vin Diesel.

    While Hodson has been on a pretty consistent superhero/comic book movie streak, penning not only The Flash but also Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey and Bumblebee, Uziel most recently penned the script for the Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum film The Lost City. Uziel also wrote the screenplay for Tatum’s 22 Jump Street, so this seems like a move clearly designed to get Tatum, who may be the only actor in Hollywood not to appear in the Fast franchise, into the series finale.

    At this point, a release date for Fast 11 has not yet been slated.

    Source: Deadline

  • Jason Momoa in Talks To Join Fast & Furious 10

    Jason Momoa in Talks To Join Fast & Furious 10

    Jason Momoa is headed to the Fast & Furious family.

    Per The Hollywood Reporter, Momoa will be joining Fast & Furious 10. Details surrounding the Aquaman actor’s role are unclear, however, it is thought he could be playing one of the film’s villains. Momoa will join Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris and Sung Kang who are all returning. Also expected back is Charlize Theron as Cipher.

    Momoa and Universal have reportedly been trying to get the actor involved in the franchise for some time. In fact, he was nearly close to appearing in Hobbs & Shaw, but things didn’t work out. That project would’ve seen him star alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who has opted not to return for Fast & Furious 10 because of his past issues with Diesel. THR reports that, following Diesel’s decision not to return, a search was on to find someone to fill his place, leading to Momoa’s casting.

    Unfortunately, though, the script is still in progress, so knowing what role the actor will play is hard at the moment. Momoa, however, does fill the need for someone with “star power and muscle power.”

    Fast & Furious 10 is set to hit theaters on May 19, 2023. Justin Lin, who has directed numerous installments of the franchise including F9, is back in the director’s chair.

    Source: THR

  • Justin Lin Set to Direct the Final Two ‘Fast & Furious’ Films

    Justin Lin Set to Direct the Final Two ‘Fast & Furious’ Films

    Fast & Furious is a rather fascinating franchise. It started off with street races before they were jumping between buildings with their cars. It also was a Box Office juggernaut, so it didn’t seem possible it would ever end. Well, in a surprising twist, Deadline has exclusively reported that Justin Lin will return to direct the final two films in the series. As such, the eleventh film will continue the story of Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Sung Kang. It isn’t confirmed yet but they believe that Chris Morgan will return to pen the script.

    Currently, his fifth film in the franchise, F9, is still in post-production. It will add Charlize Theron, John Cena, Helen Mirren, Cardi B, and Ozuna to its cast. They also started experimenting with spin-offs like the recent Hobbs & Shaw that focused on Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham‘s characters. It is uncertain if they will also return to the main franchise’s finale. It is crazy to think how far this franchise has come since it started in 2001. Next year will mark its 20th anniversary, so it is fitting for the next installment to release next year. There were jokes about the crew potentially heading to space next, but Michelle Rodriguez may have confirmed more craziness.

    Source: Deadline, Collider