• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Arts & EntertainmentHollywood

Why ‘Fate of the Furious’ Should Race to a $100 Million Opening

By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 14, 2017, 1:32 PM ET

This weekend, movie theaters around the world will be filled with the sounds of revving engines and exploding (literally) vehicles, with moviegoers likely driving the latest installment from the Fast & Furious movie franchise to the top of the Hollywood box office.

The Fate of the Furious—the eighth movie in the auto-centric, action-comedy series—is eyeing a weekend opening well above the $100 million-mark in North America for Comcast-owned Universal Studios. That would give the film the second-largest domestic debut of the year, behind Walt Disney’s Beauty and the Beast adaptation ($175 million), while steering a path for eventual worldwide grosses of more than $1 billion.

Tracking website Box Office Mojo predicts a $115 million domestic opening for The Fate of the Furious this weekend, which should easily top the limited competition in a weekend without any other major new releases.

The movie is also expected to dominate the overseas box office, especially after setting a new record for ticket pre-sales in China’s massive movie market, where 2015’s Furious 7 became the highest-grossing foreign release ever with $390 million in total ticket sales. By comparison, Furious 7 made “only” $353 million domestically, scoring more than three-quarters of its total box office gross overseas.

Related: Disney and Lucasfilm Reveal the First Trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The Fate of the Furious isn’t expected to completely live up to the financial precedent set by Furious 7, which capitalized on the franchise’s final appearance from the late actor Paul Walker and went on to gross more than $1.5 billion globally.

But the new film has been relatively well-reviewed by critics who seem to feel that The Fate of the Furious mostly delivers what the franchise’s fans have come to expect: high-octane action sequences, occasionally hokey comedy from a cast with long-developed chemistry, and (of course) a bevy of expensive and flashy vehicles. The movie currently sports a 65% rating on movie reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune‘s technology newsletter.

The latest Fast & Furious installment also heralds the coming rush of summer blockbuster films, even though Hollywood’s blockbuster season now seems to run year-round.

While the movie will likely rule the box office for most of April—with few potential blockbusters set for release over the month’s remaining weekends—Walt Disney has once again staked out the first weekend of May for the Mouse House’s latest Marvel Studios release, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. That comic adaptation sequel is already getting major buzz, with early tracking projecting a potential $150 million opening.

About the Author
By Tom Huddleston Jr.
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

ground beef
HealthTikTok
Gen Z men are eating ‘boy kibble,’ the human equivalent to dog food, to load up on protein cheaply
By Jake AngeloMarch 1, 2026
46 minutes ago
david ellison
Arts & EntertainmentHollywood
20 years ago, David Ellison’s flop as an actor stressed him out so much he went to the hospital. Now he’s set to own Paramount and Warner
By Matt Sedensky and The Associated PressFebruary 28, 2026
22 hours ago
paramount
LawHollywood
Warner/Paramount sets up Hollywood to shrink from Big 5 to Big 4, a decade after Disney took out number 6
By Lindsey Bahr and The Associated PressFebruary 28, 2026
22 hours ago
sarandos
InvestingMedia
3 things we will never know after Netflix pulled out of the Warner Bros. bidding, handing it to Paramount
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 28, 2026
22 hours ago
Arts & EntertainmentHollywood
The battle over WBD left three big winners on Wall Street—while the thousands who lost out will remain behind the scenes
By Geoff ColvinFebruary 27, 2026
2 days ago
Successphilanthropy
Dolly Parton’s philanthropy inspiration is her father who couldn’t read or write: ‘I saw how crippling that could be’
By Sydney LakeFebruary 27, 2026
2 days ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
Japanese companies are paying older workers to sit by a window and do nothing—while Western CEOs demand super-AI productivity just to keep your job
By Orianna Rosa RoyleFebruary 27, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
The week the AI scare turned real and America realized maybe it isn't ready for what's coming
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 28, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Middle East
Iran is now on 'death ground' amid existential threat from U.S. attacks and could 'go big' in retaliation, former NATO commander warns
By Jason MaFebruary 28, 2026
21 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Walmart exec says U.S. workforces needs to take inspiration from China where ‘5 year-olds are learning DeepSeek’
By Preston ForeFebruary 27, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of February 27, 2026
By Danny BakstFebruary 27, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Middle East
Dubai’s worst nightmare unfolds as Iran strikes Gulf neighbors
By Dana Khraiche, Fiona MacDonald and BloombergFebruary 28, 2026
16 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.