The high-octane "Furious 7" peeled out of the gates in its opening weekend, picking up a stunning $143.6 million from 4,004 locations to easily top the domestic box office, according to Rentrak estimates Sunday.
The expectation-shattering sum is a studio and franchise best for the
homegrown car-obsessed series, which has continued to grow over the past
few films.
"Furious 7," now the ninth-biggest opening of all time, also unseats
previous April record-holder "Captain America: The Winter Soldier,"
which opened to $95 million on the same weekend last year.
While the "Fast and Furious" films have grown in popularity over the
past three films, the mega-opening for "Furious 7" was also at least
partially tied to audience interest in star Paul Walker, who died in a car crash in Nov. 2013 before the film was completed.
Production on "Furious 7" was halted while the filmmakers and Universal
decided whether or not to proceed with the film. The team ultimately
decided to delay the release from its originally scheduled July 2014
date.
"It probably created some curiosity, but, at the same time, (the film)
fits in so well with the overall continuing saga of the 'Fast and
Furious' franchise," Nick Carpou, Universal's president of domestic
distribution, said of Walker.
"It's a motivator, but it's not by any means the prime motivator the see the movie," he added.
There is also a sense that massive openings like "Furious 7" point to
the creeping of summer blockbuster season, which seems to be starting
earlier and earlier as studios try to stake their claim on prime dates.
But for Carpou, in a 52-week-a-year release strategy, the demarcation of
a summer blockbuster is almost irrelevant when it comes to getting
audiences to turn out in droves for a film.
"It's that corny old adage that if you build it, they will come," he
said, adding that the impressive February debut of "Fifty Shades of
Grey" helps prove his point.
Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst for box office firm Rentrak,
thinks that this is a liberating trend for studios who once clamored for
the first weekend in May release date...
"Studios are finding tremendous value in putting their movies in non-traditional corridors," he said.
As the most ambitious release in Universal's history, "Furious 7" opened
on 10,005 screens internationally as well, picking up $240.4 million
from 63 territories for a $384 million worldwide debut — a 48 percent
increase over "Fast & Furious 6."
The film will also debut in Russia, Poland, Japan, and China in the coming weeks.
Holdovers populated the rest of the top spots with DreamWorks
Animation's "Home" earning $27.4 to take a distant second place. "Get
Hard" brought in an estimated $12.9 million, while "Cinderella" and "The
Divergent Series: Insurgent" rounded out the top five with $10.3
million and $10 million, respectively.
But it's all about "Furious 7" for the next few weeks. The film has the
roads to itself until Disney and Marvel's "The Avengers: Age of Ultron"
hits theaters on May 1.
"This could be the first in the franchise to flirt with the billion dollar mark," Dergarabedian said.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian
theaters, according to Rentrak. Where available, the latest
international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final
domestic figures will be released Monday.
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