Just how much money is Furious 7 making? It’s already earned more than 6 Fast 6 Furious‘s entire run, and it’s only been out for two weeks. Pf, and Vin Diesel said it wasn’t just about being fast.
After opening with $143.6 million domestically last weekend and hitting number one in every international market, Furious 7 earned $60.6 million more in the US this weekend and broke a single-day record in China when it opened Sunday – with $68.6 million. If you’re a Universal exec, that’s gotta put a little NoS in your piston.
The high-octane action pic took in another $195 million overseas from 66 markets for a foreign total of $548 million. Domestically, Furious 7 earned $60.6 million to end the weekend with a 10-day total of $252.2 million, eclipsing the $239 earned by Fast and Furious 6 in its entire run. Internationally, it will pull ahead of Fast 6‘s $550 million sometime on Monday. [THR]
There’s talk that Furious 7 could end up earning as much as $1.3 or $1.4 billion dollars total. My God, with this much money at stake, Universal might kill Vin Diesel for the next one.
The new wide release of the weekend was The Longest Ride, Nicholas Sparks’ latest tale of timeless love squashing some mouthy broad’s internship plans. Nicholas Sparks’ tenth (!!!) book to be turned into a movie, if you can believe it. That opened in third (behind Home) with $13.5 million. That was in the “lower end of the Sparks wheelhouse,” but basically standard for the old Thomas Kinkade of books, and not bad considering this latest one didn’t have any stars to speak of. And I’m sure it didn’t cost very much. Basically, it’ll be a cold night in Rodanthe before they stop making these (which is great news for my Plot Recreated With Reviews feature).
Meanwhile, in movies-that-are-actually-good news, Ex Machina opened in New York an LA, earning $250,000 and a respectable $62,500 per location. That opens wide in a few weeks. I’ll have a review forthcoming, but suffice it to say it’s about dork who wants to f*ck Llewyn Davis’s robot, and it’s really good. Also good, It Follows (review) earned $2 million more this weekend, bringing its total to $11.798 million. The studio is probably reasonably happy with that, but god damn, there’s no good reason for it not to make Paranormal Activity money. It’s sexy, smart, scary, and entertaining as hell. It’s not like you have to be a Rhodes scholar or a Criterion fanboy to get it – it’s about a hot girl and a sex demon, for f*ck’s sake. Why is it a movie like that barely cracks 1500 theaters when Unfriended gets 2600+ right out the gate this Friday? I know the general public is probably stupid and will inevitably disappoint me, but at least give them an option before they stuff their neck pouches with gruel and Big Bang Theory episodes.
This weekend brings us the aforementioned Unfriended, Monkey Kingdom, and sure to be the biggest comedy of the year, Paul Blart 2. Honestly, have you seen the trailer for this? I’m pretty sure someone has kidnapped Kevin James’ wife. Paul Blart 2: Please Don’t Hurt My Family.