VIA: Furious 7 took the 14-year-old Fast franchise to the next level this weekend with a stunning $143.6 million debut.
That opening ranks ninth all-time behind The Avengers, Iron Man 3, the final Harry Potter, two Dark Knight movies, two Hunger Games and Spider-Man 3.
The movie also opened to an incredible $240 million overseas; that's without any help from China, Japan and Russia, where it will open in the next few weeks. So far, Furious 7 has earned $384 million worldwide, and is very likely on track to earn over $1 billion by the end of its run.
At the domestic box office, Furious 7's $143.6 million debut is 51 percent higher than Captain America: The Winter Soldier's $95 million, which was the previous April record holder. This is also the biggest debut in the franchise thus far, up a whopping 47 percent over Fast & Furious 6. Furious 7 earned $14 million on IMAX screens alone, which ranks second all-time for a 2D-only movie behind The Dark Knight Rises.
Furious 7's phenomenal success can be attributed to a few factors. Coming off Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6, the franchise clearly had a ton of momentum; instead of looking like a step backward, Furious 7 appeared to be the biggest installment yet. Universal also did a nice job pushing the "One Last Ride" tagline, which gave the sense that this may be the last opportunity to see a Fast & Furious movie (which almost certainly isn't the case, but still). It's also likely that the movie got a bump from fans eager to see Paul Walker's final on-screen performance, as he tragically passed away during production in late 2013.
The movie's audience was split evenly between men (51 percent) and women, and skewed a bit older (56 percent over the age of 25). According to Universal's exit polls, Hispanic moviegoers made up a whopping 37 percent of the audience this weekend.
Even if Furious 7 falls off quickly—for example, at the rate of the very front-loaded fourth installment—it's still guaranteed to make over $300 million total. With an "A" CinemaScore, strong reviews and zero competition for the next three weeks, it's likely that this plays a bit better than that; a total around $350 million is very possible.
In second place, DreamWorks Animation's Home (2015) fell 47 percent to an estimated $27.4 million. That drop is a bit steeper than Monsters Vs. Aliens (45 percent) and is way worse than The Croods (39 percent). Through 10 days, Home has earned $95.6 million.
Get Hard took third place with an estimated $12.9 million, which is off 62 percent from opening weekend. That's a terrible drop for a comedy; among Will Ferrell movies, its identical to Semi-Pro's 62 percent decline. So far, Get Hard has earned $57 million total, and is now on track to close well below $100 million.
In its fourth weekend, Cinderella eased 40 percent to an estimated $10.3 million. It's now the highest-grossing movie from 2015 with $167.3 million, though Furious 7 will take that title sometime this week.
The Divergent Series: Insurgent fell 54 percent to an estimated $10 million. To date, the second installment in the Divergent franchise has earned $103.4 million.
It Follows added 437 locations this weekend—bringing its total to 1,655—and took in $2.47 million. That's off 35 percent from last weekend, which is a solid hold even with the theater additions. So far, the acclaimed horror flick has grossed $8.5 million.
Opening at 258 theaters, Woman in Gold took seventh place with an estimated $2 million. That's a good result, though it's tough to tell what that means in the long run. Does it burn off at a reasonable rate and top out at $7 million or so? Or does it get a nationwide push, and wind up well over $10 million? It will be interesting to see what approach the Weinstein Company goes with over the next week or two.
Around-the-World Roundup
Furious 7 opened to a stunning $240.4 million overseas this weekend. That's the third-highest international debut ever behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
In a single weekend, Furious 7 has already earned more overseas than the first four Fast movies made in their entire runs.
The movie set opening weekend records (in local currency) in 26 markets, including 12 in Latin America. Record-breaking debuts included Mexico ($20.8 million), Brazil ($10.9 million), Taiwan ($10.3 million) and Argentina ($9 million). Other major markets include the U.K. ($19 million), Germany ($15.2 million), France ($11.4 million), Australia ($11.2 million), South Korea ($8.7 million), Italy ($8 million) and Spain ($6.2 million).
Furious 7 still has to open in China, Japan and Russia, which are all on the way in the next two weeks. Even if it burns off quickly and (somehow) underperforms in those upcoming markets, it still seems like a safe bet to join the $1 billion club.
In a distant second place, Cinderella added $24.3 million for a new total of $230 million. The movie still has Japan on the way later this month, and should wind up earning over $300 million total.
Playing in 67 markets, Home (2015) grossed an estimated $20.2 million this weekend. Its top market was the U.K., where it added $3.8 million for a new total of $22.2 million. So far, the DreamWorks Animation flick has earned $83.8 million outside of the U.S.
Kingsman: The Secret Service had another strong weekend in China, easing 26 percent to an estimated $17 million. Through 10 days there, the Matthew Vaughn-directed comic book adaptation has already earned $54 million. Kingsman's worldwide total is now nearly $370 million; with Japan still on the way, it will almost certainly reach $400 million by the end of its run.
The Divergent Series: Insurgent took in $15.5 million overseas this weekend, which brings its international total to $120.2 million. It should pass Divergent's $138 million total sometime next week.
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