Comcast Corporation’s CMCSA Universal Pictures had the top three films for the weekend box office, with “F9” reigning as the most popular film with U.S. audiences for a second week in a row.
What Happened: “F9” brought in $24 million while two new Universal titles, “The Boss Baby: Family Business” and “The Forever Purge” grossed $17.3 million and $12.7 million, respectively.
At the end of the weekend, “F9” found itself as the first film since 2019 to pass $500 million in global ticket sales. “Godzilla vs. Kong” from AT&T T subsidiary Warner Bros., fell shy of the half-billion-mark with a global box office take of $446 million – but “Godzilla vs. Kong” was simultaneously released in theaters and streaming whereas “F9” can only be seen on the big screen.
The success of “F9” also affirms that audiences aren't growing tired of long-running franchises; the film is the ninth installment in the “Fast & Furious” series that began 20 years ago. Indeed, eight of the top 10 U.S. releases over the weekend were either sequels or reboots of popular franchises.
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What Happens Next: The box office draw for “F9” this weekend represented a 66% drop from its opening, and it faces very strong competition this coming weekend as “Black Widow” from Walt Disney Co DIS makes its long-awaited arrival in theaters. “Black Widow” will also be available for $29.99 on the Disney+ streaming service.
For the first time, some major titles are bypassing U.S. theaters and going straight to streaming, including Chris McKay’s “The Tomorrow War” starring Chris Pratt from Amazon AMZN and Steven Soderbergh’s “No Sudden Move” starring Don Cheadle and Benicio del Toro from HBO Max, an AT&T subsidiary.
Photo: Vin Diesel in "F9," courtesy Universal.
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