Box Office: ‘F9’ Drives to Mighty $162 Million Debut Overseas
05/23/2021“F9” has the international box office sizzling.
The latest installment in Universal’s testosterone-fueled franchise kicked off with a massive $162.4 million in eight markets, including China, Korea and Hong Kong. Those ticket sales easily mark the best opening weekend for a Hollywood blockbuster since the pandemic began.
“F9” collected $135 million in China alone, ranking as the second-biggest start for the series in the country following the eighth entry, 2017’s “The Fate of the Furious” ($184 million). In another notable milestone, it’s the first Hollywood title since Disney’s “Avengers: Endgame” to debut to more than $100 million in China.
Elsewhere, “F9” opened to $9.9 million in Korea, as well as $6.2 million in the Middle East and $2.4 million in Hong Kong.
With this weekend’s $162.4 million haul, the “Fast” franchise has pushed past $6 billion globally. “F9” is deploying a staggered rollout across the world as the globe recovers from the pandemic. It touches down in the U.S. on June 25 and will open in 60 additional markets over the summer.
It was much quieter at the box office in North America, where the gruesome horror film “Spiral,” action adventure “Wrath of Man” and wilderness thriller “Those Who Wished Me Dead” presided over the competition.
Without any new nationwide releases, “Spiral” remained in first place with $4.5 million from 2,991 screens in its second weekend of release. The movie, a creepy addition to the “Saw” franchise that stars Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson, has generated $15 million in the U.S. to date.
In second, “Wrath of Man” collected $2.9 million from 3,007 theaters. After three weeks on the big screen, the Jason Statham-led vigilante flick has amassed $18.8 million.
Ticket sales for “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” starring Angelina Jolie, dipped 35% from its opening weekend. The film brought in $1.8 million from 3,379 venues between Friday and Sunday, boosting its total haul to a bleak $5.5 million. The Warner Bros. movie, like the studio’s entire 2021 slate, is currently playing on HBO Max and will remain on the streaming service for 31 days in total.
Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” and the Warner Bros. tentpole “Godzilla vs. Kong” rounded out the top five on domestic box office charts. The family friendly “Raya and the Last Dragon” pulled ever so slightly ahead of “Godzilla vs. Kong” with $1.6 million in ticket sales, compared to $1.4 million for the latter. “Raya and the Last Dragon,” which initially debuted 12 weeks ago in theaters and on Disney Plus, has made $48 million at the box office. Meanwhile, “Godzilla vs. Kong,” which is still being offered on HBO Max, is just shy of the $100 million mark with ticket sales hovering at $97 million.
More to come…
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