“Furious 7” put the pedal to the metal on Thursday night taking in $15.8 million from early screenings. The last movie in the franchise, “Fast & Furious 6,” earned just $6.5 million from early screenings. Yes, to reiterate the obvious, Universal Pictures has a major blockbuster on its hands.
Industry estimates now have “Furious 7” earning somewhere between $130-150 million over the three-day weekend. Before this installment, “Furious 6” was the top opener in the series taking in $97.3 million and top earner making $238.6 million domestically and $788 million globally in 2013. Those franchise records will easily fall over the next few weeks.
Historically, “Furious 7” also has a chance to enter the top 10 list of the biggest openings of all-time. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Pt. 2” currently holds the 10th spot with $141 million.
Look for box office updates all weekend long on HitFix.