Traditionally the month of May marks the beginning of the Summer movie season, but Furious 7 got a jump off the line by opening on Easter weekend.
At seven movies deep, the Fast and Furious series shows no signs of slowing down. It’s been able to display the kind of longevity not many movie series have, without feeling the need reinvent or reboot itself.
The fact that this series has been able to find new and exciting ways to entertain fans has made the series a hit at the box office. And this weekend the series got a boost by posting worldwide box office receipts totaling $392.3 million. According the The Hollywood Reporter, Furious 7 tallied a domestic box office total of $147.2 million, and another $245.1 million in 63 overseas markets. The fact that this is the highest total of all time for an April opening weekend is impressive, especially considering that it opened on a holiday weekend.
This weekend total is just under half of the $788.7 million total worldwide box office takings of Fast and Furious 6. And with no solid competition at the box office for the next 3 weeks, it could conceivably eclipse that number by the end of the month.
One of the biggest reasons that Furious 7 likely managed such a big weekend and will probably continue to bring in big numbers, may also be one of the most unfortunate. With the tragic loss of Paul Walker, the franchise loses one of its biggest stars, and a huge factor in its continued success. Fans of the franchise and of Walker are likely going to race to the theater to see his final portrayal of Brian O’Conner, in order to say one last goodbye to a talented young man taken far too soon.