'Fate of the Furious' is Already a Hit in China
by EG
Universal's The Fate of the Furious doesn't open in China until Friday, the same day it gets released in North America and many other major markets around the world. But the much anticipated eighth installment in the car chase franchise is already revving its engines mightily.
The movie, directed F. Gary Gray and once again starring regulars Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, has smashed China's all-time ticket presales record, data from Beijing-based box-office tracker Ent Group shows.
As of Tuesday, the film had earned $18.1 million (RMB 125 million) in advanced ticketing revenue, well beyond prior record-holder Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, a local blockbuster produced by Stephen Chow, which notched RMB 101 million ($14.6 million at current exchange rates) in presales in January (the film went on to earn $240 million). Fast 8's presales kicked off April 2.
The film has also hit a new all-time high for advanced Imax sales in China, pulling in $2.4 million (RMB 16.5 million) so far, unseating prior record-holder Captain America: Civil War, which took approximately RMB 10 million ($1.4 million at current rates) in Imax presales last year, according to leading local movie site Mtime.
Read the rest of this article at The Hollywood Reporter.