Hopes were high that F9 would use all of its franchise powered NOS to deliver a box-office performance in line with a pre-pandemic world when it opened in eight international markets this weekend, and those expectations were met as Universal’s vehicular tentpole raced off with $162.M overseas.
Unsurprisingly most of the money came from China, where F9 earned $135.6M, making it the first Hollywood export to open over $100M+ since Avengers: Endgame. The opening was at the lower end of expectations, which Deadline report is down to social and critical reaction to the blockbuster.
F9‘s Korean performance was more impressive, where it took home $9.9M and scored the biggest opening day of the Fast Saga so far, and the third best opening day for Universal ever in the country.
Elsewhere, in the Middle-East a $6.2M haul ensured that F9 achieved the biggest opening weekend of all time, whereas the $2.4M opening day in Hong Kong was also a single-day record for the franchise and the best during the pandemic. A similar feat was found at the Russian box-office, where F9‘s $8.2M weekend total was the biggest since the health-crisis.
Now Universal will sit back and wait for the movie to rev its engines for its global release in a months time, and hope that piracy doesn’t affect a film which really needs to be seen on the biggest screen.
Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto is leading a quiet life off the grid with Letty and his son, little Brian, but they know that danger always lurks just over their peaceful horizon. This time, that threat will force Dom to confront the sins of his past if he’s going to save those he loves most. His crew joins together to stop a world-shattering plot led by the most skilled assassin and high-performance driver they’ve ever encountered: a man who also happens to be Dom’s forsaken brother, Jakob (John Cena, The Suicide Squad).
The action hurtles around the globe—from London to Tokyo, from Central America to Edinburgh, and from a secret bunker in Azerbaijan to the teeming streets of Tbilisi. Along the way, old friends will be resurrected, old foes will return, history will be rewritten, and the true meaning of family will be tested like never before.
F9 sees Justin Lin directing series veterans Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Sung Kang, Charlize Theron, and Helen Mirren, along with franchise newcomers John Cena (Bumblebee), Finn Cole (Peaky Blinders), Anna Sawai (Ninja Assassin), Vinnie Bennett (Ghost in the Shell), Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy), Cardi B (Hustlers), MMA fighter Francis Ngannou, and singer Ozuna.
