I bet you woke up this morning wondering if the newFast & Furiousmovie was doing well at the box office after all its predecessors have proven fiscal titans over the last 16 years at the domestic box office. Well, there’s good news on that front.The Fate of the Furious, which easily takes the prize for the worst entry in the franchise to date, is on track to debut with something like $103 million over the Easter weekend, taking in $45.6 million on Friday.
IfThe Fate of the Furiousdoes end up passing $100 million this weekend, that would put the eighth entry in the car-centric, nonsense-heavy franchise as the second best opening weekend for the series behindFurious 7.James Wan’s previous galvanizing entry came in with an astounding $145 million, which got some extra boost from glowing reviews and the introduction ofJason Statham’s unstoppable villain. Still, it’s already looking likeF. Gary Gray’s turn at the wheel will outpaceJustin Lin’sFast & Furious 6, even if it looks to be the first entry sinceTokyo Driftthat didn’t have a bigger opener than the previous entry.
For Gray’s reputation as a capable populist director, this will no doubt prove to be a boon after the enthusiastic reception toStraight Outta Comptonand one can only hope he’ll use this newfound trust and fame to make a more substantial picture. That being said, it’s not like the box office is seeing much substance amongst its ranks these days.The Boss Babylooks to be securing second place in its third frame, bringing in $6.5 million on Friday, while Disney juggernautBeauty and the Beastbrought in $5 million. Toward the bottom of the top five,Smurfs: The Lost Villageis currently in fourth place with $2.7 million, just aboveZach Braff’sGoing in Styleat $2.1 million. None of these movies are memorable or even have a particularly interesting style to them. There are scenes in all these movies that are entertaining - up to a point - but none of them coalesce into anything worth talking about for more than 30 seconds. Here’s hoping that by the timeGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2hits the screens, that will have changed.
