The Fast and the Furious may be one of the least likely franchises in Hollywood history.
Almost all the other series to reach a double-digit number of installments have been based on pre-existing properties, with a seemingly endless amount of source material: Marvel comic books, DC comic books, James Bond novels. Yet Furious stands as an original property, with the original loosely based on a Vibe magazine article about street racing culture.
Through 11 films—10 main installments plus one spinoff—the franchise has far exceeded what, at the time of the original installment’s release, probably seemed like about three movies maximum… if that.
Ahead of this weekend’s release of Fast X, here’s a box office breakdown of Universal’s mammoth franchise, presented in chronological order.
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Release Date: June 22, 2001
Domestic Opening Weekend: $40M
Domestic Total / Marketshare: $144M (70%)
Overseas Total / Marketshare: $62M (30%)
Global Total: $207M
Domestic Franchise Rank: #8
Global Franchise Rank: #9
Domestic 2001 Rank: #12
Global 2001 Rank: #19
The one that started it all.
Paul Walker starred as Brian O’Conner, an undercover Los Angeles Police Department officer who infiltrates illegal street racing competitions. But he unexpectedly befriends racing champion Dominic Toretto, played by Vin Diesel, and strikes up a romance with Dom’s sister Mia, played by Jordana Brewster. Michelle Rodriguez rounds out the crew as Letty Ortiz, Dom’s own romantic partner. All four characters would prove key in the many installments to come.
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
Release Date: June 5, 2003
Domestic Opening Weekend: $50M
Domestic Total / Marketshare: $127M (54%)
Overseas Total / Marketshare: $109M (46%)
Global Total: $236M
Domestic Franchise Rank: #9
Global Franchise Rank: #8
Domestic 2003 Rank: #15
Global 2003 Rank: #17
While the domestic box office was down -12% for this installment, the global box office was up +14%.
The only installment not to return Diesel, this sequel spawned a million internet memes: whenever a follow-up to any movie is announced, somebody online invariably comments that it should be named something like 2 Spider 2 Man.
This film also introduced the character Tej Parker, played by Ludacris, who returns in all the following installments. Begging the question: when the real-life Ludacris rap song Area Codes plays in a house party scene from the first film, within the in-story universe, is the song by Ludacris or his character Tej Parker?
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Release Date: June 16, 2006
Domestic Opening Weekend: $23M
Domestic Total / Marketshare: $62M (39%)
Overseas Total / Marketshare: $96M (61%)
Global Total: $158M
Domestic Franchise Rank: #10
Global Franchise Rank: #10
Domestic 2006 Rank: #41
Global 2006 Rank: #32
By far the lowest grossing installment, at both the domestic and global box office.
Originally conceived as a spinoff before being retconned into the storyline of the main franchise more than a decade later, none of the original installment’s cast returned in lead roles. Instead, Lucas Black stars as new character Sean Boswell, who would return in the two subsequent installments Furious 7 and F9.
Here, the action shifted to Japan. This installment also introduced fan favorite character Han Lue, played by Sung Kang, who appears in several subsequent films. A pivotal cameo from Vin Diesel, reportedly added after the film was finished, would change the course of the franchise.
Fast & Furious (2009)
Release Date: April 3, 2009
Domestic Opening Weekend: $70M
Domestic Total / Marketshare: $155M (43%)
Overseas Total / Marketshare: $205M (57%)
Global Total: $360M
Domestic Franchise Rank: #7
Global Franchise Rank: #7
Domestic 2009 Rank: #15
Global 2009 Rank: #17
Returning the four main members of the original cast, this fourth installment was the highest-grossing installment up to that point, before the series would truly turbocharge its financials beginning with the fifth film.
This installment Introduced Gal Gadot’s character Gisele Yashar, another fan favorite, who would appear as a supporting character in several subsequent installments before truly rocketing to A-list stardom with 2017’s Wonder Woman.
Fast Five (2011)
Release Date: April 29, 2011
Domestic Opening Weekend: $86M
Domestic Total / Marketshare: $209M (33%)
Overseas Total / Marketshare: $416M (66%)
Global Total: $626M
Domestic Franchise Rank: #4
Global Franchise Rank: #6
Domestic 2011 Rank: #6
Global 2011 Rank: #7
This was the first installment to reach the yearly top 10 for the domestic box office, plus the global box office as well.
Here the franchise truly took it up a notch into the hyperbolic globe-trotting heist plot absurdities which would come to define the tone for the latter half of the series, over the “street racing” premises of the first half. It also marked the first appearance of several for Luke Hobbs, played by Dwayne Johnson.
The first entry of the franchise to meet the potential of the overseas box office, with nearly two-thirds of its earnings coming from outside of North America. Fast Five would transition the franchise into a global tentpole behemoth, Universal’s answer to Hollywood’s superhero era.
Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
Release Date: May 24, 2013
Domestic Opening Weekend: $97M
Domestic Total / Marketshare: $239M (30%)
Overseas Total / Marketshare: $550M (70%)
Global Total: $789M
Domestic Franchise Rank: #2
Global Franchise Rank: #3
Domestic 2013 Rank: #8
Global 2013 Rank: #6
This installment upped the ante even further, with a high budget and plenty of stunt and action sequences. It also set new financial records for the franchise up to that point, at both the domestic and global box office, coming in +13% above Fast Five domestically and +26% above it globally. With 70% of ticket sales coming from outside of North America, this entry in the series was the first to cross the half-billion mark at the overseas box office.
Furious 7 (2015)
Release Date: April 1, 2015
Domestic Opening Weekend: $147M
Domestic Total / Marketshare: $353M (23%)
Overseas Total / Marketshare: $1.16 Billion (77%)
Global Total: $1.51 Billion
Domestic Franchise Rank: #1
Global Franchise Rank: #1
Domestic 2015 Rank: #5
Global 2015 Rank: #3
By far the highest grossing installment in the franchise, at both the domestic and global box office. Grossing more than a billion dollars overseas, the film sold more than three quarters of its tickets outside of North America.
Following lead actor Paul Walker’s tragic death in a car accident at age 40, the seventh installment was retooled to feature a heavier emotional component, with Walker’s real-life brothers standing in for him in some scenes.
The closing credits song See You Again by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video, which heavily features footage from the film, now ranks as the #6 most viewed YouTube video of all time at 5.8 billion views.
This installment also introduced the character Deckard Shaw, played by Jason Statham. (Although the character actually first appeared in a credits scene cameo during the prior film.)
The Fate of the Furious (2017)
Release Date: April 14, 2017
Domestic Opening Weekend: $99M
Domestic Total / Marketshare: $226M (18%)
Overseas Total / Marketshare: $1.01 Billion (82%)
Global Total: $1.23 Billion
Domestic Franchise Rank: #3
Global Franchise Rank: #2
Domestic 2017 Rank: #10
Global 2017 Rank: #3
Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren both joined the cast, as the cyberterrorist Cipher and as Magdalene Shaw respectively. Both would regularly appear in the subsequent installments as well.
While the box office was almost certain not to match the more emotionally resonant Furious 7, with the domestic haul down -36% and the global total down -18%, it still marks the franchise’s second and only other billion-dollar earner besides Furious 7. The bulk of that revenue once again came from overseas, with the international haul crossing the billion dollar mark for the second consecutive time.
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
Release Date: August 7, 2019
Domestic Opening Weekend: $60M
Domestic Total / Marketshare: $174M (23%)
Overseas Total / Marketshare: $587M (77%)
Global Total: $761M
Domestic Franchise Rank: #5
Global Franchise Rank: #4
Domestic 2019 Rank: #13
Global 2019 Rank: #11
This spinoff united Johnson’s and Statham’s characters, rivals who are forced to work together to take down Idris Elba’s villain Brixton Lore — who’s trying to kill Vanessa Kirby’s character Hattie. Despite being a spin-off, Hobbs and Shaw kept the overseas box office streak alive for the franchise by once again grossing $500M+ outside of North America.
F9 (2021)
Release Date: June 25, 2021
Domestic Opening Weekend: $70M
Domestic Total / Marketshare: $173M (24%)
Overseas Total / Marketshare: $553M (76%)
Global Total: $726M
Domestic Franchise Rank: #6
Global Franchise Rank: #5
Domestic 2021 Rank: #5
Global 2021 Rank: #5
Originally intended to come out in 2020 and delayed a year due to the Covid pandemic, this installment introduced Dom’s brother Jakob Toretto as the villain, played by John Cena.
The box office earnings come with a pandemic asterisk. Released to a still-recovering global market under Universal’s newly shortened 30-day window., it earned -23% less than the prior “main” installment domestically and -41% less globally, and came in slightly under than the spinoff installment Hobbs & Shaw.
Read Boxoffice PRO‘s 2021 interview with F9 director Justin Lin:
A Furious Return: Director Justin Lin Brings a Billion-Dollar Franchise Back to Cinemas with F9
Fast X (2023)
With the marketing tagline “The end of the road begins,” the (supposed) penultimate installment comes out on Friday, May 19, with a follow-up installment scheduled to hit theaters in 2025.
This film adds Jason Momoa as villain Dante Reyes, the son of the villain Hernan Reyes from Fast Five. Brie Larson also joins the cast as a new character named Tess.
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