Weekend Box Office: Fast X does so-so domestically, but is a global blockbuster

While domestic audiences seem to be cooling on the Fast Family, with a $67 million opening (below my $70 million prediction), the global gross for Fast X proves there’s more fuel left in the tank for this long-running series. Worldwide, Deadline reports that the movie had a $319 million opening, making it the second biggest of the year behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The site notes that the $251 million international start is the second best for the series, just behind The Fate of the Furious, meaning that a potential $1 billion international finish is within reach (the series needs it – with the film carrying a $340 million budget). The film did exceptionally well in China, earning $78.3 million.

All that said, the domestic opening has to be seen as a disappointment for Universal, with the film opening $3 million below F9: The Fast Saga, which opened in the middle of the pandemic. What’s going on here? Are North American audiences sick of Vin Diesel’s Dom Torretto? The new film contains some important cameos that suggest Fast X – Part 2 will pack more star power beyond Diesel and the core Fast Family, but it’s a worrying trend. The series arguably peaked in popularity with Furious 7, which opened to an incredible $147 million, with The Fate of the Furious grossing $98 million a few years later.

In other news, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 continues to do well, with it only declining another 48% this weekend for a $31.9 million weekend and a $266 million gross. It seems unlikely to make as much money as Guardians 2 did ($389 million) but could potentially do as well as the first film ($333 million).

Despite being available digitally, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Evil Dead Rise continue to do well. Super Mario added another $9.8 million to its coffers this weekend, with the gross now standing at $549 million domestically. Book Club just edged out Evil Dead Rise, with the former grossing $3 million to the latter’s $2.35 million. Still, a $64 million gross for Evil Dead Rise is nothing to sneeze at.

Way further down the list are a few indie releases from last week. As expected, given its complicated legal situation, Hypnotic lost 385 screens, posting an $825,000 weekend for a measly $4.061 million gross. Ouch. BlackBerry, on only a quarter of the screens, made $525,000, cracking the top 10, with only a 29% week-to-week decline. I still think IFC made a bad move going semi-wide with this, as a platform release could have built up word-of-mouth a lot better. It seems like only A24 really knows how to market Indies these days.

Inevitably, Fast X will fall to number two at the box office next weekend, with Memorial Day going “Under the Sea” with the much-hyped The Little Mermaid remake. However, the weekend always tends to be massive for movie, so it’s possible Fast X may have a really solid hold. Time will tell, but it would be very embarrassing were the film to be beaten by Guardians 3 in its second weekend.

What do you think of Fast X’s weekend? Has the franchise finally run out of gas? Let us know in the comments!