Fast & Furious & Saw franchises cross huge box office milestones

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

It was a big box office weekend for the Fast & Furious & Saw franchises as both properties crossed huge box office milestones.

Let's start with Fast & Furious which saw the early release of Fast 9 in 8 overseas markets. The ninth entry of the franchise grossed $163 million in its overseas debut which pushed the franchise to a staggering total of $6.056 billion to date. Fast 9 grossed $137 million in China alone which continues to show the power of the franchise on a worldwide scale, especially in that particular market.

The first film, released in 2001, grossed $206.4 million worldwide while the low point for the franchise came with the third film, Tokyo Drift, which grossed $157.7 million globally. Once the original cast was brought back for 2009's Fast & Furious, that is when things truly took off. By Fast Five, which brought Dwayne Johnson to the franchise, the worldwide total for that film hit $630.1 million. From there the worldwide grosses kept increasing. Fast & Furious 6 grossed $789.3 million worldwide and Furious 7, which had to deal with the death of Paul Walker, shot things into the stratosphere with a total of $1.51 billion. Furious 7 remains not just the highest-grossing entry of this franchise, but one of the biggest movies in history. The Fate of the Furious came down a bit with $1.23 billion but with grosses like that, no one is complaining. Hell, even spinoff Hobbs & Shaw grossed $760.3 million worldwide. If you're wondering why they keep making these, the proof is in the numbers.

Moving on to the Saw franchise, Spiral: From The Book Of Saw isn't exactly igniting the box office but with a second weekend gross of $4.5 million, the Saw franchise brings ita global total to $1,000,799,533. David Spitz, Lionsgate's president of domestic theatrical distribution, had this to say about the milestone:

"We congratulate our friends at Twisted Pictures and all of the filmmakers and stars who have been a part of the Saw legacy. Over the years, our partners have been innovative, creative, and open to new ideas as they have nurtured a micro-budget film into a billion-dollar-plus-grossing cultural phenomenon."

There have been nine entries released over the last 17 years and a global take like this is a VERY rare feat for horror which will likely be the reason the franchise will continue. What has made Saw so financially viable for Lionsgate is that these films are very cheap to make. The original Saw, released in 2004, grossed $103.8 million worldwide on a $1 million budget. The series reached its highest point with 2006's Saw III which earned $163.8 million. The lowest point for the franchise was Saw VI, which grossed $69.7 million. Even though that was a franchise low, the film's $11 million budget ensured that the movie still turned a profit. At its most expensive, which is 2010's Saw 3D ($17 million due to the addition of 3D), the film was still successful relative to budget with a gross of $133.7 million globally. 

Are YOU surprised by these box office milestones for the Fast & Furious and Saw franchises?