Fast X is the latest entry in the successful Fast Saga, but it seems to be running out of gas faster and more furiously than its predecessors. The movie hasn't made nearly as much money as expected, and this is after the production budget went sky-high. Worst of all, it's already set to release for VOD soon, further kneecapping its box office potential.
Though this might be sudden death for other properties, Fast & Furious will still race on. Not only is Fast X getting a sequel, but Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs is also getting another spinoff movie. This isn't the time of roadmap that should be drawn as the series is reaching diminishing returns, and it could mean that it goes out as a loser instead of taking home first.
Fast X May Be the Fast Saga's Biggest Bomb
Releasing in the middle of May 2023, Fast X came two years after F9 and four years after the spinoff movie Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. Unfortunately, it faced a tumultuous production, with its initial director leaving the project early on. This made its budget skyrocket, with the final tally reaching nearly $350 million. Given the franchise's previous successes, even this catastrophically high production budget might not be too hard to overcome. After all, F9 made over $700 million as theaters were still largely recovering from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sadly, even that final box office sum may be out of reach for the newest entry, which is currently stalling in second gear.
Fast X has only made a little over $600 million, which is not even double its budget. This is even with China's box office being a lot more open to Hollywood movies, meaning it's doing far worse than its predecessors despite releasing in better conditions. Fast X is also hitting VOD less than a month after it hit theaters, which is never a good sign. And while this could simply be part of a now outdated necessity for pandemic-era movies, it's highly likely that Fast X would've kept all four wheels in theaters had it found more success there. It's definitely a cautionary tale to Universal Pictures, though it's seemingly not one that the studio is paying attention to.
Fast X's Spinoffs and Sequels May Be Dead on Arrival
Many were already shocked at the announcement that Fast 11, which was believed to be the main franchise's conclusion, would instead only be the penultimate entry. It wasn't a lauded decision, especially since some found the franchise to already be long in the tooth even before the newest movie started underperforming. It was definitely an artificial extension of the series, and it isn't the only example. There's still talk of a female-led spinoff movie, not to mention the new Hobbs film. If these were to have been released at the series peak after Furious 7, they would have been a lot easier to see as potential success stories. Now, however, with moviegoers seemingly just tired of it all, it begs the question of whether these tentative films will escape the chopping block.
Sure, Fast 11 and 12 are almost certain to still be made. At the same time, the spinoffs will likely depend entirely on the performance of the next movie, namely the female spinoff. It's been talked up for years at this point, and while Gisele Yashar's head-scratching return makes it more feasible than ever, it honestly might be too late for the film. Likewise, while the Hobbs sounds like a good idea on paper, given The Rock's own celebrity, said box office draw has certainly diminished following the career black eye that was Black Adam's failure. It's a maelstrom of bad circumstances that could see all of these movies suffer a similar fate to the current film. With the next main entry still two years away, it remains to be seen if the Fast Saga can get the necessary tune-up in time to cross the finish line.
Fast X is currently in theaters.