Will Fast 9 revive the box office as we head out of the pandemic? If early international numbers and predictions are to be believed, that answer is a resounding yes.
Fast 9 began its rollout early overseas on Wednesday in Korea and Hong Kong (the film doesn't open until June 25, 2021, domestically) and the numbers in those locations are off to a great start. As of now, Korea is seeing a $7.7 million gross through Saturday while Russia and the Middle East are seeing grosses of $6.4 million and $5.5 million respectively.
The true international breakout is China, where the franchise truly thrives. As of Friday 5:30 PM local time in China, the film has grossed an estimated $35.8 million and is claiming about 88% of the market share in the area. This figure gives the sequel a running total of $45.3 million including sneak previews and midnight screenings. This is all before Saturday and Sunday numbers are included so this is a solid start and not all too surprising since pre-sales in the market came in at $32.6 million, making it the most anticipated Hollywood tentpole of the year in China so far. By the end of Saturday, it's estimated that the film will hit $105 million during its opening weekend.
All of this is pointing towards an international opening weekend that could come in at $150-180 million. That's good by most standards for a tentpole release and great considering we are still dealing with a pandemic affected box office climate. Things are certainly getting better but the box office isn't 100% back to normal. When we see these numbers we can't think about how it's lower compared to what could've been but how impressive the numbers are given the limitations.
Going back to China, the ticketing company Maoyan is predicting that the film will gross $52.2 million by the end of its opening day and $162 million over its three-day opening. That would mean that a majority of the overseas opening would come from China and the film will open on the high end of expectations in the $180 million range. Over the full course of its run, Maoyan is estimating the film will gross $337 million in China alone. It should be noted that the overall gross estimate does come in lower than the final tally of the Chinese grosses for The Fate of the Furious ($393 million) and Furious 7 ($391 million), but, once again, this isn't a normal box office year and if the film does reach $337 million in China, that should be considered a success.
Are YOU surprised by Fast 9's overseas numbers so far?