To no one's surprise, the eighth installment of the "Fast and Furious" franchise made a killing during its opening weekend at the box office. The first film to debut minus one of the franchise's star actors, Paul Walker, "The Fate of the Furious" took home $532.5 million over the weekend.
For some perspective, the box office success surpasses "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which earned $529 million during its opening weekend. However, most of the love for "The Fate of the Furious" was found outside of North America, which contributed just $100.2 million to the entire total. That's a decline from "Furious 7," which earned $147.2 million in North America on its opening weekend.
Chinese audiences poured in for "Fast 8," however. Grossing $192 million over the weekend, the film has earned the distinction of becoming the biggest three-day debut in the country's history for a Hollywood title.
"This franchise is showing no sign of wear and tear," Duncan Clark, Universal International Distribution Chief, told Variety. "'Fate of the Furious' is satisfying audiences on many different levels."
There's more to come as well. Vin Diesel has already stated there will be two more films, with the this latest installment being the first of a final trilogy for the series. After the insanity found in "Fast 8," we don't know how the cast will top the high-flying stunts, but we're sure they will find a way. As a fun fact, the franchise caused over half a billion dollars in real-world damage over the first seven films, and that doesn't even include the mayhem of "The Fate of the Furious."