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The pandemic continues to have a devastating effect on the theatrical industry, with business still in the doldrums almost eighteen months after cinemas around the world were first forced to lock their doors, and based on how things have been going it’ll be next year before things stand any real chance of returning to normal.
However, none of that matters when you’ve got the power of family, as evidenced by Fast & Furious 9 smashing past $700 million at the global box office. It was already flying high as the only Hollywood blockbuster to be released since the end of 2019 to cross $500 million, and Dominic Toretto and his crew have only continued to blitz pandemic-era records.
To put things into perspective, the second highest-grossing title to come along since the beginning of last year is Godzilla vs. Kong, which has brought in $467 million to date. F9 has become the first American film to bring in $200 million from China since Hobbs & Shaw in the summer of 2019, and it’s the only 2021 movie to top the global box office for four consecutive weekends, spending two weeks at number one domestically and five at the international summit.
While a $700 million haul would only be good enough for thirteenth place on the 2019 charts, it can’t be overstated just how incredible Fast & Furious 9‘s performance has been given the circumstances. The worldwide popularity of the brand has seen it throw off the constraints of COVID-19 to bring in the sort of cash 99% of big budget studio epics would kill for at the best of times, so there’s plenty to celebrate for Universal.