Fate of the Furious crosses $900M globally; Unforgettable and The Promise bomb
Universal Pictures‘ The Fate of the Furious easily topped the box office charts for the second week in a row in every market across the globe. Domestically, the eighth installment added $38.7 million (a drop of 60.8%) to bring its total to $163.6 million, while internationally the film grossed another $163.4 million this weekend for an overseas total of $744.8 million. That means the worldwide total for The Fate of the Furious is already up to $908.4 million, and it will cross the $1 billion mark this week. In 2015, Furious 7 earned $353 million in North America and $1.163 billion internationally, for a worldwide total of $1.516 billion.
In China, The Fate of the Furious continued its great run at No. 1 with an estimated $58.5 million in its second weekend. The 10-day total in the country is $318.9 million (2.1 Billion RMB). It just passed Transformers: Age of Extinction (2 Billion RMB) to become the second-highest grossing U.S. release of all-time in China behind Fast & Furious 7 (2.4 Billion RMB). Elsewhere, highlights include: Mexico $29.9M; U.K. and Ireland $29.3M; Brazil $26.2M; Germany $24.4M; Russia $23.4M; India $19.2M; Korea $19.1M; France $18.9M; Australia $16.9M; Taiwan $15.3M; Argentina $14.2M; Italy $12.1M; and Spain $10.3M. There is one more territory still to open: Japan on April 28.
The F. Gary Gray-directed The Fate of the Furious, made for $250 million, stars Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Elsa Pataky, Kurt Russell, Scott Eastwood, Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren.
Remaining in second place in North America, DreamWorks Animation’s The Boss Baby added $12.8 million its fourth weekend for a total of $136.9 million. Internationally, The Boss Baby added $30 million from 78 markets to drive its overseas total to $221.1 million and worldwide total to $358 million. Released by 20th Century Fox and directed by Tom McGrath (Madagascar), the comedy features the voices of Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, and Miles Bakshi.
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast also held onto its third spot at the domestic box office with $10 million and it has earned $471.1 million after six weeks. Overseas, the live-action adaptation grossed $22.9 million this weekend ($12.8 million from its final market Japan) to take its total to $629.2 million. Made for $160 million, Beauty and the Beast has now earned $1.1 billion worldwide. Directed by Bill Condon, the film stars Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Audra McDonald, Gugu Mbatha Raw, Hattie Morahan, Nathan Mack, Ian McKellen, and Emma Thompson.
Disney also claimed fourth place with its new Disneynature documentary Born in China, narrated by John Krasinski. Born in China opened to an estimated $5.1 million from 1,508 theaters, receiving an A- CinemaScore from audiences, making it the largest start for a Disneynature title since 2012’s Chimpanzee ($10.7 million). It has already earned $9.4 million in China during its release there as well.
New Line and Warner Bros. Pictures comedy Going in Style, starring Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Alan Arkin, Christopher Lloyd and Ann-Margret, rounded out the top five with $5 million. The $25 million film has grossed $31.8 million after three weeks. Going in Style earned $4.6 million internationally this weekend and is up to $19.1 million, for a global total of $50.9 million.
While Born in China performed well, the other newcomers did not. Warner Bros. Pictures’ Unforgettable, starring Katherine Heigl and Rosario Dawson, earned just $4.8 million from 2,417 theaters in seventh place. It cost $12 million to make. Probably the worst opening of the year so far belongs to The Promise, however. Made for $90 million, the film earned just $4 million from 2,251 theaters in the ninth spot. Terry George directed the drama, starring Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, and Christian Bale.
Meanwhile, found-footage thriller Phoenix Forgotten opened to $2 million from 1,952 theaters, but it cost just $2.8 million to produce, while Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire debuted with just $1 million from 1,070 theaters. The film stars Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer, Michael Smiley, Brie Larson, Sharlto Copley, Jack Reynor, Sam Riley, and Noah Taylor.