Furious 7 was not only a successful movie in its own right but it became one of the most successful movies of all time. The early estimates are now coming on how the next entry in the series is going to do when it arrives next month. While Beauty and the Beast was the first film to see a $100 million opening weekend in 2017, the expectation is that The Fate of the Furious will be the second movie to reach that milestone.
Currently, The Fate of the Furious looks to be eyeing a domestic opening of between $110 and $120 million domestically. This would put it above the coveted $100 million mark but would put it behind the $135 million done by Fast & Furious 6 as well as the massive $147 million done by Furious 7. That film would go on to do $1.5 billion around the world. The Fate of the Furious is currently looking like it will certainly put up blockbuster numbers, but it may not necessarily be in competition with its predecessor.
The Wrap says that the opening of The Fate of the Furious is looking so good in part due to the fact that it's opening in a month where there simply isn't much else happening. While Beauty and the Beast is expected to have another strong weekend coming up, even in the face of competition from Power Rangers and the science fiction horror film Life, the movie will certainly have calmed down by the time Fate opens next month. With nothing else big hitting the screen until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. in May, the feeling is that movie fans will be looking for their next big screen experience, and there simply isn't anything else that's expected to interfere with Fate's box office.
It will be interesting to see just how the new movie does as it will be the first one, since the much maligned Tokyo Drift, to not include star Paul Walker. The fact that Walker died during filming of Furious 7 was clearly part of the success of the last film as fans saw the movie as a way of paying their respects. The franchise has decided to move forward with not just one, but three more films over the next several years. Based on these early estimates it would seem that while most fans will be happy to return, some may not be quite as excited with one of the franchise stars missing.
While Paul Walker won't be back, other series mainstays like Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, and Michelle Rodriguez will be back, along with newcomers like Charlize Theron and even Helen Mirren. The Fate of the Furious hits theaters April 14.
