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‘Furious 7’ Blows Franchise Past $1 Billion

Furious 7 poster
Universal Studio/Comcast Corp.
On its Friday, its first day in wide release, “Furious 7” opened with $67.3 million in domestic ticket sales to add to the $938 million the franchise had already grossed, pushing the series to more than $1 billion in receipts. Universal Studios, the division of Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) that is responsible for all seven titles in the series, estimates that the three-day take for the weekend will reach $150 million.

If the film reaches that total, it will rank 10th on the all-time highest-grossing opening weekend list, roughly equal with “The Hunger Games” and “The Dark Knight.” If “Furious 7” reaches the $150 million mark, it will be the best-ever April opening for a movie. The film opened on 4,004 U.S. screens.

In addition to the domestic take the film opened in 63 foreign markets this weekend as well and earned $59.3 million, according to Hollywood Reporter. Globally the film is on track to earn well over $200 million on its first weekend.

“Fast & Furious 6,” released in May 2013, had the best previous opening weekend for the franchise, with $97.4 million. “Fast and Furious” grossed $71 million on its opening weekend in April 2009, and “Fast Five” opened with $86.2 million in April 2011.

“Furious 7” sold more tickets on Friday than the third film in the franchise, “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” earned in its 12-week theatrical run in June 2006. That film posted just $62.5 million in its U.S. release.

Final weekend estimates will be out Monday, and “official” studio reports are typically released the next day.

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