The ninth entry in the Fast and Furious franchise, F9, is off to a big start at the international box office, pulling in $162.4 million in its first weekend. The blockbuster debuted in eight foreign markets over the past few days, including Korea, the Middle East, Hong Kong, and China. The latter market’s audiences ponied up a majority of the total figure, contributing $135.6 million to the cause.
As a result, F9 has established a new pandemic-era box office record, easily besting the international debut of Godzilla vs. Kong, which brought in $121 million during its first few days out overseas (note that Godzilla vs. Kong simultaneously debuted on HBO Max, as opposed to F9 being a theater exclusive). As for other milestones, F9 also had the second biggest international opening for Universal and the Fast and Furious franchise, coming up short only to the series’ eighth entry, The Fate of the Furious. It’s also the first Hollywood movie to open with more than $100 million in China since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
“It shows us that audiences are willing to come back when the right movie is available,” said Universal’s president of international distribution, Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Fast and Furious movies have now brought in more than $6 billion worldwide.
Now you may have noticed that you can’t see the movie yet if you live in the U.S. That’s because F9 is getting a staggered rollout that’s hoping to buy time for cinemas to be as close to normal as possible before it premieres in America on June 25. It also comes out in Australia on June 17, Latin America on June 25, and several European countries in July.
The film stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese, Ludacris, John Cena, Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron, and Kurt Russell. It was directed by Justin Lin, who also co-wrote it along with Daniel Casey. You can watch a trailer here, and here, and read early critical reaction here.
