The seventh installment to the “Fast & Furious” movie franchise is set to become the latest film that will most likely join the prestigious Billion Dollar Club.
After only 12 days since it was released to global theaters on April 3, “Fast & Furious” 7 has raced past $800 million in worldwide box office haul, reports Deadline.
International weekend movie box-office estimates saw “Fast & Furious 7” leading the pack by adding $195 million to its earnings last week. The movie is currently being shown in 22,000 theaters in 66 territories worldwide.
Despite the staggering sum earned this week, it actually reflected a 20.4% drop from its cumulative sales output as of April 12, which is already $548 million by then.
Universal Pictures also made sort of a record for “Fast & Furious 7” by passing the $500 million worldwide box-office haul after only 11 days.
It is expected that “Fast & Furious 7” would hit the $1 billion global box office mark at the end of the coming week and the movie will officially become the latest member of the Billion Dollar Club.
The Paul Walker factor
Aside from its powerhouse cast and fast-paced car action sequence, many are attributing the success of “Fast & Furious 7” to the recent demise of actor Paul Walker, who has been a pioneer in the franchise along with Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster.
Paul Walker ironically died due to car accident in November 2013 at the age of 40 while he and his friend were on their way to a social outreach event.
Fans were surely intrigued on how Director James Wan seamlessly used and intertwined digital technology and several series stand-ins to make it look like that Paul Walker actually shot the scenes even if filming actually ended months after his death.
Phil Contrino, vice president and chief analyst at BoxOffice.com says that Walker’s death has really made “Fast & Furious 7” more interesting and intriguing for people, especially those who did not have the opportunity to see some of the franchise’s instalments. Contrino added that it really raised awareness and that the success of the film can be the best tribute to Paul Walker.
Just like previous films of the franchise, Universal Pictures has allotted a $190 million production budget for “Fast & Furious 7,” which means that its opening weekend performance at the box office alone already covered 75% of the production budget.
“Fast & Furious 7” starts from the ending of the sixth installment of the franchise. The gang was almost back to their normal lives when the older brother of Owen Shaw, previously played in “Fast & Furious 6” by Luke Evans, came back to haunt them one by one. Deckard Shaw, played by Jason Statham, is out to get some revenge for his brother and that’s where all the slam-bang action begins.
In addition to Vin Diesel and Paul Walker (shades of him in most parts of the film actually), the other returning cast members include Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludarcris, Dwayne Johnson and Lucas Black. Statham and Russell play the antagonists’ role. Other stars in the movie include Tony Jaa, Djimon Hounsou, Nathalie Emmanuel and Ronda Rousey.