It was expected that Furious 7 would be huge, but it ended up doing more than huge. The seventh installment of the blockbuster franchise was able to pull in an absolutely unbelievable $143.6 million, the ninth-biggest opening weekend ever unadjusted for inflation (behind Avengers, Iron Man 3, the final Harry Potter, two Dark Knight movies, two Hunger Games movies and Spider-Man 3). For the weekend itself, it averaged $35,870 from 4,004 locations, the ninth-biggest ever for a movie's opening weekend (behind seven of the same eight, with the only exception being the Hannah Montana concert movie instead of Spider-Man 3). For this franchise to reach the heights of YA films and superhero movies is absolutely impressive, considering the earlier films weren't anywhere near as impressive (though the sixth movie did have a heck of a Memorial Day opening). The impact of this being the final role for Paul Walker definitely helped bring in more crowds. Reviews were very good (83% on Rotten Tomatoes) and the CinemaScore was an "A".An opening this large will guarantee a huge drop next weekend, but the strong audience reception could keep it in the top spot for the remainder of the month. At this point, a finish above $300 million is very reachable. In fact, should it play out like Fast and Furious 6, it could reach $350 million or possibly even higher than that. Should it end up that high, it would be the highest-grossing movie domestically since Frozen.
Overseas, Furious 7 pulled in a fabulous $240.4 million overseas, the third-biggest overseas debut ever behind the final Harry Potter and the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean, and setting opening weekend records in 26 international markets. The worldwide launch stands at a staggering $385 million. Fast and Furious 6 started off with $160 million overseas on its way to a $550 million overseas gross and nearly $800 million worldwide. With this kind of improvement, Furious 7 stands a good chance at joining the elite $1 billion club worldwide.
Furious 7 earned 62% of the combined total for this weekend's theatrical earnings. With that huge figure in mind, there wasn't much room for anything else. DreamWorks Animation's Home, following a strong opening, fell 47% in the face of Furious 7 to $27.4 million, for a very solid $95.6 million gross in 10 days. Home didn't display the holding power of The Croods or How To Train Your Dragon, and its Easter weekend gross is right in between those two. Still though, with virtually no animation competition for the next two months, Home is set to see much better holds from here on out.
More affected by Furious 7 due to a similar audience, Get Hard plummeted 62% to $12.9 million, for a decent $57 million 10-day pick-up. Mixed word-of-mouth ("B" CinemaScore) didn't help either. The Kevin Hart-Will Ferrell pic will also have a chance to hold better in the coming weeks, but a $100 million finish might be out of play now.
Two female-centric films from March ended up in a close race for fourth place, but in the end, it was Disney who prevailed with their Cinderella remake. The fantasy hit finally found some footing, off 40% to $10.3 million, for a solid $167.3 million gross in 24 days. The movie is basically following a similar pattern to Oz: The Great and Powerful, which earned $11.7 million on this same weekend in 2013. Should it continue to follow or hold slightly better than that trajectory, then the film should end up just above $200 million.
Insurgent followed with a 54% decline to $10 million, for a decent $103.4 million pick-up in 17 days. The second installment of the Divergent trilogy is still trailing its predecessor by around $12 million. At this pace, the second installment should top out around $130 million, off $20 million from Divergent. In a very distant sixth, It Follows held on solidly, off 35% to $2.5 million. The critically-adored horror thriller is at $8.5 million since its limited launch 24 days ago, or 4 times its $2 million budget.
In 258 locations, World War II drama Woman in Gold got off to a decent start in seventh place. The Helen Mirren flick opened to a solid $2 million, for a $7,767 per-venue average. Reviews have been down the middle (49% on Rotten Tomatoes), so this probably won't last long in theaters, unless word-of-mouth turns out to be positive.
Spending an eighth-straight weekend in the Top 10, Kingsman: The Secret Service was off 43% to $1.7 million, for a strong $122.3 million pick-up in 56 days. The spy flick has surprisingly continued to play well in the face of strong competition. Do You Believe? was off 35% to $1.5 million in its third weekend. Pure Flix's follow-up to God's Not Dead is at $9.8 million in 17 days, respectable for an independent release but only average for a wide release effort aimed at faith-based audiences. Rounding out the Top 10 in its fifth weekend was The Second-Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which was off 53% to $1 million. Judi Dench and co. have earned a solid $30.1 million in one month of release.
Next weekend brings the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation, The Longest Ride, which is expected to do decent business. Can it hold a candle in the face of all the Furious destruction?
