Weekend Box Office: FAST X Drives $67.5M Domestic, $251.3M Overseas Debut

Photo Credits: Universal ("Fast X"); Disney & Marvel Studios ("Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3")

Fast X

Universal’s action sequel revved up to a $67.5M in first place, but behind the debuts of the past half dozen installments in the “main” franchise.

  • -3% below 2021’s F9 ($70.0M) 
  • -31% below 2017’s The Fate of the Furious ($98.7M)
  • -54% below 2015’s Furious 7 ($147.1M)
  • -30% below 2013’s Fast & Furious 6 ($97.3M)
  • -21% below 2011’s Fast Five ($86.1M)
  • -4% below 2009’s Fast & Furious ($70.9M)

At least Fast X opened +12% above 2019’s spinoff Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw ($60.0M).

With this release, Universal (along with subsidiary distributor Focus Features) passed the $1 Billion mark domestically this weekend, becoming the first distributor parent company of the year to do so.

Disney (along with its subsidiary distributors) currently stands around 79% of that mark. They may achieve the $1 Billion feat as soon as next weekend, if The Little Mermaid debuts well enough.

Audience demographics

Fast X earned a B+ CinemaScore. That’s:

  • Equal to F9 (B+)
  • Below Hobbs & Shaw (A-)
  • Below Fate of the Furious (A)

The racial breakdown was only 29% white, which is substantially lower than:

  • F9 (35%)
  • Hobbs & Shaw (40%)
  • Fate of the Furious (41%)

The audience was also an identical 29% Hispanic, which is:

  • Below F9 (37%)
  • Above Hobbs & Shaw (27%)
  • Above Fate of the Furious (26%)

The audience was 65% ages 25+, which is:

  • Older than F9 (51% ages 25+)
  • Older than Hobbs & Shaw (also 51% ages 25+)
  • Older than Fate of the Furious (50% ages 25+)

In terms of gender, the audience was 58% male, which is:

  • Slightly below F9 (60%)
  • Equal to Hobbs & Shaw (58%)
  • Also equal to Fate of the Furious (58%)

Overseas / global

Fast X began with $251.3M overseas and $318.8M globally.

Comparisons to many prior films in the franchise are hard, because some installments debuted with a simultaneous global opening, while others had a staggered release.

Still, for what it’s worth, this marks the franchise’s #3 global opening, above F9 but behind The Fate of the Furious ($532M) and Furious 7 ($384M).

In China specifically, Fast X opens with $78.3M, which is:

  • -39% below F9 ($128.2M opening)
  • -21% below Hobbs & Shaw ($99.1M opening)
  • -59% below Fate of the Furious ($191.3M opening)

Top overseas markets for Fast X include:

  1. China ($78.2M)
  2. Mexico ($16.6M)
  3. France ($9.6M)
  4. Brazil ($9.6M)
  5. India ($8.6M)
  6. Indonesia ($8.3M)
  7. Germany ($8.0M)
  8. U.K. ($7.4M)
  9. Japan ($7.0M)
  10. South Korea ($6.7M)

Read Boxoffice PRO’s “Boxoffice Rewind” feature on the box office history of the Fast and the Furious franchise, here:

https://www.boxofficepro.com/fast-furious-box-office-history/ 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

In its third frame, the Disney and Marvel Studios superhero sequel falls -48% to $31.9M and second place.

That’s within the range of Boxoffice PRO’s weekend projection, which was in the $29M to $35M range.

The film is holding fairly well. Among all films, it’s earned the:

  • #52 opening weekend of all time ($118.4M)
  • #35 second weekend of all time ($62.0M)
  • #51 third weekend of all time ($31.9M)

Among the 32 MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) films, it’s earned the:

  • #16 opening weekend
  • #12 second weekend
  • #13 third weekend

It’s closing the gap with its immediate predecessor. Compared to 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, its total is running:

  • -19.1% behind after its opening weekend
  • -13.5% behind after its second weekend
  • -11.5% behind after its third weekend

It’s also closing the gap with 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder. Its total is running:

  • -17.8% behind after its opening weekend
  • -8.2% behind after its second weekend
  • -3.6% behind after its third weekend

Overseas / global

Vol. 3 has earned $392.6M overseas and $659.1M globally.

For comparison, the first installment earned $770.8M globally, while the second installment improved to $869.0M. It’s possible that Vol. 3 might not reach either of those numbers.

In China specifically, Vol. 3 has earned $72.3M so far. The first installment earned $86.3M, then the sequel improved to $99.3M. It’s similarly that Vol. 3 might not reach either of those numbers, either.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Weekend

In its seventh frame, Universal’s animated video game adaptation drops only -22% to $9.8M and third place.

It’s now earned the:

  • #32 “traditional” three-day opening weekend of all time ($146.3M)
  • #17 five-day start of all time, since it opened on a Wednesday instead of a Friday ($204.6M)
  • #7 sophomore weekend of all time ($92.3M)
  • #7 third weekend of all time ($59.9M)
  • #6 fourth weekend of all time ($40.8M)
  • #17 fifth weekend of all time ($18.5M)
  • #30 sixth weekend of all time ($12.6M)
  • Now, the #31 seventh weekend of all time

Among animated films specifically, it’s earned the:

  • #3 opening weekend of all time, behind 2019’s The Lion King ($191.7M) and 2018’s Incredibles 2 ($182.6M)
  • #1 sophomore frame of all time, beating the prior record holder, 2019’s Frozen II with $86.0M
  • #1 third frame of all time, beating the prior record holder, 2018’s Incredibles 2 with $46.4M
  • #1 fourth frame of all time, beating the prior record holder, 2018’s Incredibles 2 with $28.4M
  • #3 fifth frame of all time, behind 2013’s Frozen ($19.6M) and 2016’s Zootopia ($19.3M)
  • #6 sixth frame of all time
  • #7 seventh frame of all time, behind only:
    1. Frozen ($19.5M)
    2. Aladdin ($13.3M)
    3. Toy Story 2 ($12.4M)
    4. Frozen II ($11.8M)
    5. Beauty and the Beast ($10.6M)
    6. 1994’s The Lion King ($9.9M)

Domestic total

With $549.2M to date domestically, Mario ranks as the #14 biggest film of all time.

Among animated films specifically, it ranks #2 all time domestically, behind only 2018’s Incredibles 2 ($608.5M).

Among post-pandemic films, it ranks #4 domestically, behind only:

  1. 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home ($814.1M)
  2. 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick ($718.7M)
  3. 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water ($683.8M)

Overseas / global

With $698.4M overseas and $1.24B globally, Mario ranks as the #21 biggest film of all time globally.

Among animated films specifically, Mario ranks as the #4 film of all time globally, behind only:

  1. 2019’s The Lion King ($1.66B)
  2. 2019’s Frozen II ($1.45B)
  3. 2013’s Frozen ($1.28B)

Among post-pandemic films, it ranks #4 globally, behind only:

  1. 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water ($2.31B)
  2. 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home ($1.92B)
  3. 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick ($1.49B)

Book Club: The Next Chapter

Last weekend, Focus Features’ comedy sequel failed to open the page, with a $6.6M debut in third place.

That was on the lowest end of Boxoffice PRO’s pre-release projection, which was in the $6M to $10M range. It was also far below the openings of several other similar “elderly comedies” of recent years.

Now, in its sophomore frame, it falls -55% to $3.0M and fourth place.

That’s steeper than the sophomore frame percentage drops for:

  • 2018’s Book Club (-26%)
  • 2013’s Last Vegas (-32%)
  • 2015’s The Intern (-34%)
  • 2017’s Going in Style (-47%)
  • February’s 80 for Brady (-54%)

Hypnotic

Last weekend, Ketchup Entertainment’s thriller, starring Ben Affleck, opened with $2.4M in sixth place.

That was below the openings of even some other Affleck underperformers of recent years: -50% below 2021’s The Last Duel ($4.7M) and -53% below 2015’s Live by Night ($5.1M).

Now in its sophomore frame, Hypnotic falls a sharp -66% to $825K.

That’s equal to or steeper than the sophomore drops of several other Affleck films aimed at adults in the past decade:

  • 2016’s The Accountant (-45%)
  • April’s Air (-46%)
  • 2013’s Runner Runner (-51%)
  • 2021’s The Last Duel (-57%)
  • 2017’s Live by Night (-66%)

Elsewhere at the box office

  • Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 4 has now earned $185.3M total. That’s +8% above the final total of 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum ($171.0M), and +10% through the same point in release ($167.4M).
  • Warner Bros.’ Evil Dead Rise has now earned $64.1M total. That’s +18% above the final total of 2013’s Evil Dead ($54.2M), and +20% through the same point in release ($53.2M).

Weekend comparisons

Total box office this weekend came in around $120.8M, which is:

Weekend

Total

This weekend is:

Leader

Last weekend

$100.3M

+20%

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, second frame ($62.0M)

Same weekend in 2022

$75.6M

+59%

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, third frame ($32.3M)

Same weekend in 2019

$148.3M

-18%

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum ($56.8M)

YTD comparisons

Year-to-date box office stands around $3.08B, which is:

Year

YTD total

2023 YTD now:

2023 YTD after last weekend:

Trend

2022

$2.37B

+29.8%

+28.8%

Up

2019

$4.13B

-25.2%

-25.0%

Down

Top distributors

Grouped by parent company, the YTD leaders are:

  1. Universal + Focus Features: $1.00B
  2. Disney + 20th Century + Searchlight + Star: $797.9M
  3. Lionsgate: $301.8M
  4. Paramount: $260.0M
  5. MGM + United Artists + Amazon Studios: $232.1M
  6. Sony Pictures + Sony Classics + Crunchyroll: $188.1M
  7. Warner Bros.: $161.1M

Universal and Disney are in first and second place, by more than double everyone else.

Disney looks poised to likely retake the lead in May or June, thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Little Mermaid.


Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates:

Title  Estimated weekend  % change Locations Location change Average  Total  Weekend Distributor
Fast X $67,500,000   4,046   $16,683 $67,500,000 1 Universal
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 $31,980,000 -48% 4,450   $7,187 $266,522,579 3 Walt Disney
The Super Mario Bros. Movie $9,800,000 -22% 3,540 -260 $2,768 $549,291,000 7 Universal
Book Club: The Next Chapter $3,000,000 -55% 3,513 5 $854 $13,125,000 2 Focus Features [Universal]
Evil Dead Rise $2,375,000 -36% 2,173 -648 $1,093 $64,106,000 5 Warner Bros.
John Wick: Chapter 4 $1,332,000 -36% 1,312 -301 $1,015 $185,313,565 9 Lionsgate
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret $1,326,000 -47% 1,668 -697 $795 $18,696,250 4 Lionsgate
Hypnotic $825,000 -66% 1,733 -385 $476 $4,061,216 2 Ketchup Entertainment
Blackberry $525,000 -29% 595 -30 $882 $1,200,000 2 IFC Films
Love Again $400,000 -72% 1,243 -1,460 $322 $5,901,000 3 Sony Pictures
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves $385,000 -51% 511 -423 $753 $92,875,000 8 Paramount
Master Gardener $269,200   220   $1,224 $269,200 1 Magnolia
Nefarious $264,000 -29% 327 -66 $807 $5,012,058 6 SDG
Sisu $171,600 -67% 274 -419 $626 $7,109,439 4 Lionsgate
Knights of the Zodiac $160,000 -71% 588 2 $272 $920,000 2 Sony Pictures
The Pope’s Exorcist $155,000 -54% 151 -394 $1,026 $19,791,000 6 Sony Pictures
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania $136,000 -68% 85 -50 $1,600 $214,349,964 14 Walt Disney
Sanctuary $65,000   5   $13,000 $65,000 1 Neon
Chevalier $46,000 -23% 90 -20 $511 $3,372,964 5 Searchlight [Disney]
Monica $40,000 43% 92 90 $435 $72,000 2 IFC Films
The Starling Girl $31,039 30% 27 23 $1,150 $64,272 2 Bleecker Street
L’immensita $23,115 152% 20 18 $1,156 $37,677 2 Music Box Films
Joyland $14,150 27% 9 -15 $1,572 $230,366 7 Oscilloscope
Avatar: The Way of Water $10,000 -57% 25 -10 $400 $684,060,555 23 20th Century Studios [Disney]
Moon Garden $6,110   1   $6,110 $6,110 1 Oscilloscope
Photo Credits: Universal ("Fast X"); Disney & Marvel Studios ("Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3")