This weekend at the American box office, perhaps not that surprisingly given the wave of publicity surrounding it and the fact that the franchise has been on a roll, belonged to what in the States is simply known as** Furious 7**. Yes, the seventh instalment of the Fast & Furious films roared into US cinemas with a franchise record $143.6 million, according to studio estimates.
It was an impressive result, partially powered by interest in seeing how the film would pay tribute to the late Paul Walker, who died while on a break from shooting in 2013. And the film also did well overseas, earning $240.4 million for a $384 million global total after just one long Easter holiday weekend. It’s actually the fourth highest-grossing global opening in history, behind two Harry Potter films and 2012’s** Avengers**.** **There’s clearly gas in this tank, as Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto and the rest of the gang proved that seventh entries in series don’t have to suffer flagging fortunes.
Naturally, no other studio chanced a wide release against the Fast crew, so the rest of the chart is mostly all just shoved down a place. DreamWorks Animation’s Home was second with $27.4 million, which should keep the company’s accounts team feeling good. Get Hard held stronger than anticipated given the negative reviews, dropping one place to third and $12.9 million. Cinderella held on to fourth place, adding $10.2 million to its fairy tale coffers, while The Divergent Series: Insurgent fell two places from third to fifth, earning $10 million along the way.
Sixth place finds horror success It Follows, which is enjoying healthy earnings ($2.4 million this weekend) in a much more limited run than some of its chart mates. But the true indie success this week was The Woman In Gold, with the Helen Mirren/Ryan Reynolds artwork drama launching seventh despite showing on just 258 screens. That’s quite the achievement, and the $2 million result is also nothing to be sneezed at.
Kingsman: The Secret Service slipped from sixth to eighth, taking in $1.7 million, ahead of Do You Believe?, which fell to ninth and $1.5 million. In tenth place was The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which earned $1 million.
To see a car fly across the charts to the top in the full listings, head over to Box Office Mojo.