Universal took the “Fast” out of the Fast & Furious title for Furious 7, which makes today’s news all the more ironic: Furious 7 didn’t just gross $1 billion worldwide, it’s the fastest (and, presumably, the angriest) movie to that milestone in history.
In 17 days of release, Furious 7 has made $265.3 million in the U.S. and another $735.2 million overseas. The previous benchmark for the fastest $1 billion gross was 19 days, a mark shared by three films, The Avengers, Avatar, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2. Here’s NBCUniversal Vice Chairman Ron Meyer’s statement about the news:
On behalf of all of us, I am incredibly proud of the motion picture team at Universal, the cast and filmmakers of the FAST & FURIOUS for all they have done to take our original idea and evolve it into a huge, global, blockbuster franchise. When our friend and colleague Paul Walker tragically passed away in the middle of production, our team, led by Jeff Shell and Donna Langley, and the filmmakers along with the cast and crew did what they do best: They focused on family first; then talked to the fans; then got to work on making a great film that we can all be proud of. We were all saddened and honored to be a part of Paul’s final career performance and to celebrate his defining role in our lives.
The question now is whether Furious 7 will lose its title just as quickly as it earned it. Avengers: Age of Ultron opens on May 1 and looks to be an absolute behemoth at the box office, big enough to possibly topple Furious 7 from its $1 billion perch. We’ll find out in a few weeks. Until then: Ride or die.
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