Well, this is certainly something of a shock. After Fast
Beginning with its opening in the US, the eighth installment earned an estimated $98.7million (earlier estimates had the opening slightly higher at around $103million) and while that is down on the 7th film, it’s still a mighty big haul for the film and is the 2nd biggest weekend of the year so far behind Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
SEE ALSO: Read our review of Fast & Furious 8
While some may say the US opening is slightly disappointing given the previous film’s $147million opener, the film’s have grown beyond the domestic market as its proved with its record-breaking international debut. The previous record-holder, 2015’s Jurassic World, earned $316.7million across the non-domestic territories but has lost its crown after Fast 8 earned a whopping $432.3million over the weekend.
Biggest of all was its debut in China where it took an astounding $190million and secured the largest three-day opening weekend of all time in the country. Add to that around $17million in the UK and the weekend opening for the film is a massive $532.4million, smashing the record set by Star Wars: The Force Awakens by around $3million.
Is there life in the Furious franchise? You betcha, and with parts 9 and 10 already announced (Fast in Space anyone?) it looks like the series is going to continue to rule the planet for a while yet. That is until a certain Last Jedi arrives just in time for Christmas…
Fast and Furious 8 is in cinemas now.