'Fate of the Furious' just toppled a major 'Star Wars' box office record
Here's a fun piece of trivia: The Fate of the Furious made more money than the nine other movies behind it in the weekend box office Top 10.
Or how about this one: based on current estimates, The Fate of the Furious is the owner of the biggest worldwide box office opening of all time, with $532.5 million. It comes in just ahead of previous record-holder Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which opened in 2015 with $529 million.
SEE ALSO: 45 thoughts I had while watching 'The Fast and the Furious' for the first time
In the United States, Universal's latest physics-mocking installment in a series about fast cars and hand-operated torpedoes comes to an estimated $100.2 million. Assuming that number holds, it's enough for the second-biggest opening in franchise history.
Furious 7, which marked the late series stalwart Paul Walker's final Fast appearance, beats Fate by a wide margin. The 2015 release, which also opened in April, picked up $147.2 million in its first three days.
The Fate of the Furious is also eyeing yet another big record. It's currently poised to exit the weekend as the third-highest April opening of all time, behind Furious 7 at #1 and Disney's live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book ($103.3 million) at #2.
Two others from the series — Fast Five (2011, $86.2 million opening) and Fast & Furious (2009, $71 million opening) — are also April hits. Both place in the month's Top 10 for all-time box office openings, at #5 and #6, respectively.
In other words: The Fate of the Furious is an historically massive hit, and the series as a whole continues to prove itself as one of the most bankable blockbusters in Hollywood.
The Boss Baby and Beauty and the Beast claim the weekend's #2 and #3 spots with $15.5 million and $13.6 million, respectively. Baby has held up surprisingly well, with an overall lack of family-friendly competition creating an opportunity.
Beauty, now finishing its fifth weekend, creeps ever-closer to a $500 million U.S. box office, with the current weekend estimate bringing it to $454.6. It may struggle to hit that milestone in the weeks ahead, though — as with Baby — the relative dearth of competition should help.
Although it's nowhere near breaching the Top 10 with a limited, four-theater opening and only $112,633 in ticket sales, The Lost City of Z is worth a mention. It's Bleecker Street's second distribution deal with an internet streaming partner — Amazon, in this case.
Previously, Bleecker Street partnered with Netflix on the theatrical release of Beasts of No Nation. That one opened in more theaters — 31 in its opening weekend, then 21 in its second — and grossed $90,777 across two weeks.
Lost City is already proving to be a better bet, with an opening weekend estimate that exceeds Beasts' lifetime total and in far fewer theaters.
All box office figures provided by comScore and Box Office Mojo.
