'F9' Roars Through US Weekend Box Office With $70M Haul, Continuing Franchise Dominance

“F9” took over the U.S. weekend box office with $70 million, making it the highest grossing opening for a film since before the pre-pandemic period.

What Happened: “F9” is the ninth installment in a franchise that began 20 years ago, but audiences still cannot get enough of its slam-bang automotive action.

The film, produced and released by Comcast Corporation CMCSA subsidiary Universal Pictures, already grossed nearly $335 million in international markets ahead of its U.S. release, which is also notable for being the year’s first major release to go directly into theaters without a simultaneous streaming release.

“F9” scored the largest U.S. box office weekend opening since Walt Disney Co’s DIS "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" premiered in theaters in December 2019. Currently, 80% of U.S. movie theaters are now open, which makes the “F9” numbers all the more impressive.

“F9” ran over its big screen competition. The second place finisher, “A Quiet Place Part II” from ViacomCBS VIAC subsidiary Paramount, brought in $6.2 million domestically while last weekend’s top grossing film, “The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard” from Lionsgate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF-A), sank to third place with a box office take of $4.88 million.

See Also: Benzinga Stock Market Live: 13 Stocks To Trade This Week

20 Years Of Box Office Mayhem: The “Fast & Furious” franchise began with the June 22, 2001, release of “The Fast and the Furious,” which ranked first in its opening weekend with a U.S. box office of more than $40 million. The 2003 sequel, “2 Fast 2 Furious,” opened June 6, 2003, and earned $50.5 million in its U.S. weekend box office.

The franchise hit a pothole with “The Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” which only brought in about $23 million on its opening weekend on June 16, 2006, placing third among the top-grossing films; another auto-enabled flick, the Pixar animation “Cars,” commanded the box office that weekend. This marked the only time a “Fast & Furious” film was not the top ranked film at the box office for its U.S. premiere.

The most successful U.S. opening for the franchise was 2016’s “Fast & Furious 6,” which took in $117 million. This was achieved over a four-day Memorial Day weekend, rather than the typical three-day openings of the other films in the series.

What’s Next? How long “F9” can reign at the U.S. box office is anyone’s guess. Several major releases, including the Disney-Marvel “Black Widow” and "The Suicide Squad" from AT&T T subsidiary Warner Bros., are coming to theaters in the next few weeks.

Nonetheless, “F9” has plenty of cinematic road to travel – the film is now playing in 45 countries and has yet to open in major markets including Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Photo: Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez in Universal Pictures' "F9."