A return to form for cinema releases?
The tenth entry in the Fast and Furious franchise, F9: The Fast Saga, has seen a reported estimate of £50 million ($70m US) during its first weekend in theatres across the US and Canada. Its current worldwide accruement has now surpassed £287 million ($400m US).
The current worldwide pandemic has shown a number of blockbuster films faced with delays and rescheduling to ensure a full theatrical run, with Fast and Furious 9 suffering a 13 month delay. Initially slated for May 22, 2020 the penultimate film in the Fast Saga finally saw its release this year on June 25 to mixed reviews.
The competition
The 2021 Box Office has seen treacherous waters with the on again off again nature of the pandemic. Naturally, as things have become safer and cinemas have begun opening again, we’ve seen increases in opening weekends. Comparatively 2019 saw multiple opening weekends hit the billion dollar mark.
Thus far, the highest opening weekends for 2021 worldwide as follows:
- A Quiet Place Part II – $15.8m
- Cruella – $14.3m
- The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard – $12.4m
- Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway- $11.1m
The future looks bright
With its previous entry, The Fate of the Furious, bringing in $98.8m US during its open weekend, $70m US is hardly a disappointment considering the circumstances – though it would be an over exaggeration to call it a return to form.
However, the highly successful, increasingly bonkers series of street racing films action thrillers performance shows people are itching to get back to the cinemas to watch a blockbuster – regardless of critics thoughts.
Lewis Walker
Scotty ✅
