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 That establishes a new high-water mark for the month of
April, blowing past the $95 million debut of "Captain America:
The Winter Soldier," and stands as the highest-grossing kick-off
for any film in the "Fast and Furious" franchise. It also ranks
ninth among the top ten openings in history.
Much as "The Dark Knight" turned into a memorial for Heath
Ledger, audiences flocked to see star Paul Walker in one of his
final roles. The actor died in a 2013 car crash at the age of 40
and his work on the film was completed using digital technology
and a series of stand-ins.
"This is a bittersweet installment in the franchise," said Phil
Contrino, vice president and chief analyst at BoxOffice.com.
"[Walker's] passing made this movie more intriguing for people
who hadn't seen some of the installments. It raised awareness
and its success is a tribute to him."
Universal Pictures spared no expense in bringing the latest
chapter in the fast cars and gravity-defying-stunts series to
the big screen, shelling out $190 million on the production. It
unspooled in 4,003 North American theaters, earning $14 million
on 365 Imax screens and $11.5 million from premium large format
screens. Going into the weekend, most analysts estimated that
the film would open in the $115 million range.
Foreign numbers were steroidal. Internationally, the film rolled
out across 10,500 screens in 63 territories, earning $240.4
million.
"This is the next member of the billion dollar club and that's a
rarefied place to be," said Contrino. "This thing is on fire."
With an A CinemaScore and strong reviews, "Furious 7" could be
one of the few modern blockbusters that hangs on for more than a
few weeks. The month of April is lean on blockbuster fare and
"Furious 7" won't get serious competition until "The Avengers:
Age of Ultron" debuts on May 1.
The opening weekend crowd was impressively diverse, a testament
to a series that has drawn strength from its multi-cultural
cast. The audience was 51% male, 44% under age 25, 37% Hispanic,
25% Caucasian, 24% African-American and 10% Asian.
"We're expanding our audience based on the diversity of interest
from different ethnic groups all buying into saga of Dom Toretto
and his family," said Nick Carpou, Universal's president of
domestic distribution, referencing the character played by Vin
Diesel.
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Last weekend's box office champion, DreamWorks Animation's "Home,"
showed impressive stamina, falling less than 50%. The animated tale
picked up $27.4 million in its sophomore frame, pushing its domestic
total to $95.6 million.
In third place, R-rated comedy "Get Hard" earned $12.9 million. The
Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart team-up fell 62% from its opening
number, bringing its stateside haul to $57 million.
"Cinderella" snagged a fourth place finish, picking up $10.3 million
stateside to push its domestic bounty to $167.3 million. Globally,
the Disney release is closing in on $400 million.
"The Divergent Series: Insurgent" rounded out the weekend top five,
nabbing $10 million and driving the film to $103.4 million
domestically.
Among art house releases, Noah Baumbach's "While We're Young"
expanded from four to 34 theaters, picking up $492,976. The A24
release has earned $791,450 in two weeks.
Radius-TWC's "It Follows" also continued to expand, moving from
1,218 to 1,655, though its gross dipped 35% to $2.5 million. The
critically adored horror film has made $8.5 million since debuting
on March 13.
The Weinstein Company was particularly bullish on the reception for
"Woman in Gold," a drama about the fight to recover art stolen by
the Nazis. The film picked up $2 million from 258 locations and will
expand to between 800 and 1,000 venues this coming weekend.
"The film is definitely poised for a long, long run," said Erik
Lomis, the studio's distribution chief. "That's a really solid
start."
Thanks to "Furious 7," the overall box office reached $218 million,
the first time that ticket sales have crossed $200 million over the
Easter weekend.
"These huge results jump start momentum for the blockbuster, summer
season, suggesting that 2015 is shaping up to be everything (and
maybe even more) that the industry has been hoping for," said Greg
Foster, CEO of Imax Entertainment.
In other words, "Furious 7" just dropped the mic.
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