What is happening with Fast X and its family of furious filmmakers? If new reports are accurate, the long-running film franchise is heading to some dark roads ahead.
Yahoo News via The Wrap reports that Fast X, the 10th and penultimate film in the Fast and Furious franchise, has a budget of around $340 million. They claim “individuals with knowledge of the production” have suggested an increased funding of about $40 million more than the previously reported Fast X budget.
The increase is about 70% more than the reported $200 million budget for F9: The Fast Saga, which only brought in $726.2 million worldwide.
The outlet notes the film’s outrageous price tag has multiple factors to blame. There’s the reported “increased salaries for series star Vin Diesel and the rest of the franchise’s ensemble cast, general increases in production costs caused by global inflation, and charges for pandemic testing requirements mandated by COVID-19 safety protocols.” The reported $340 million budget also factors in any tax-incentive offsets.
Fast X is seemingly going through a bit of a crisis with the change of director, creative differences, and the ballooning budget. Vin Diesel feels like he’s one step away from Kevin Costner taking over Waterworld to save its release.
In 1995, Waterworld saw its budget hit $172–175 million, which, adjusted for inflation, is around $345 million now. The Costner-led film saw an equally rocky production, with cost overruns and production setbacks blowing up the budget.
Director Kevin Reynolds quit the movie before its release, citing creative differences with Kevin Costner, which sounds similar to long-time Fast director Justin Lin stepping away after clashing with Vin Diesel.
Lin has since moved away to helm the One-Punch Man movie, while Louis Leterrier was later brought on to direct the new Fast film.
No one wants to see a film flop, and Fast X has more than enough time to make all of its money back. With a strong marketing campaign and the theaters coming back a bit stronger since the release of F9, the film could still break even. The range seems to be about $500-550 million to break even at the box office, so the tenth Fast and Furious film would need to pull out all the stops.
For reference, Waterworld was unable to recoup its massive budget at the box office, despite being one of the highest-grossing films of 1995.
Fast X features a cast that includes Vin Diesel, Sung Kang, Nathalie Emmanuel, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Charlize Theron, and franchise newcomers Rita Moreno, Jason Momoa, and Brie Larson.
Fast X is currently set for release on May 19th, 2023.
