'Fate of the Furious' Wins Easter Weekend Race
by EG
Universal and director F. Gary Gray's The Fate of the Furious fired up its engines with $45.6 million on Friday for a $104 million domestic debut.
That would represent one of the top Easter openings of all time, as well as the second best start for the franchise.
The eighth outing in the action franchise, commanding an A CinemaScore, is also opening around the world this weekend and should finish Easter Sunday with $400 million in global ticket sales. China, where it is already breaking records, could bring in $200 million alone.
In April 2015, Furious 7 — the final film in the series to star Paul Walker, who died in a tragic car crash in November 2013 — debuted to a record-shattering $147 million domestically after earning $15.8 million in Thursday previews.
On the international front, Fate of the Furious scooped up $58.4 million from 41 markets on Thursday to post Universal's highest-grossing Thursday ever. The early international total, including Wednesday and Thursday openings, stands at $82.2 million, with the movie checking in as the No. 1 opening in every territory where it's been released.
Read the rest of this article at The Hollywood Reporter.
Last weekend's number-one movie was The Boss Baby.