Boasting one of the largest budgets in film history and a stacked cast of Hollywood names, Fast X moves full speed ahead towards one of the best opening weekends ever for the Fast & Furious franchise.
Per Collider, the upcoming 10th movie in the Fast & Furious series boasts encouraging projections for its first weekend in theaters, with an expected opening tally of around $295 million. Box-office forecasts have Fast X earning approximately $235 million across 81 markets internationally and $60 million domestically. Should the latest sequel achieve the number, Fast X would boast the third-largest premiere weekend for the Fast & Furious series, with 2017's The Fate of the Furious ($541.9 million) and 2015's Furious 7 ($397.6 million) the only installments to make more in ticket sales.
Whether Fast X can kick into gear strongly enough to attain the Fast & Furious series' best box-office showing remains to be seen, considering Furious 7, the last franchise title to feature the late Paul Walker's Brian O'Conner, tops the lot with a $1.5 billion worldwide take. The last sequel, F9: The Fast Saga, earned around $10 million more in its opening weekend than Fast X is expected to make, though F9 ended up with a respectable yet underwhelming $721 million, with some citing fan fatigue with the series for its performance.
Fast X Begins a Trilogy to End of the Series
Originally intended to be the first film in a two-part series finale, Fast X will now be the opening installment of a closing trilogy, as recently confirmed by franchise star Vin Diesel while promoting the film. The movie is the most expensive title of the Fast & Furious franchise, boasting a $340 million budget, a 70% increase from F9. with many insiders believing the bloated figure is an indication of major additions and reintroductions to the film and franchise as a while. Two of those reintroductions include the reported feature of Gal Gadot as Gisele, as well as the surprise return of Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs after Johnson left the series amid issues with Diesel and other castmates.
The premise of Fast X centers around Momoa's big bad, the son of deceased Brazilian drug kingpin Hernan Reyes who Dom and Brian killed during Fast Five. Bloodthirsty and vengeful, Dante hunts down Dom and his family with Cipher's help, mainly targeting Dom's son Brian Marcos (Leo Abelo Perry) to get even. Momoa has been called the best male villain of the Fast & Furious series by Rodriguez, with early reviews raving about his performance. Director Louis Leterrier has also hinted multiple characters could die during the final stretch of movies in the franchise, adding to the drama.
Fast X opens in theaters across North America on May 19.
Source: Collider