Still from Universal’s “F9.”
Universal
Universal’s “F9” is leading the way for 2021’s summer season ticket office.
Over its opening weekend, the Fast and Furious movie tallied $70 million in ticket office invoices, one of the most of any film launched in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The previous record holder was Paramount’s “A Quiet Place Part II” which opened in May with simply under $50 million in ticket sales. Other leading openers were “Godzilla vs. Kong,” which tallied $32.2 million throughout its very first weekend in April, and “Cruella,” which took in $37.4 million when it was very first launched in May.
With an extra $37.9 million in ticket sales worldwide, “F9” has actually now gathered more than $405 million given that its launching outside the U.S. and Canada in May.
“F9’s opening weekend performance shows that Universal’s decision early on in the pandemic to move the film well into 2021 was the absolute best move,” stated Paul Dergarabedian, senior media expert at Comscore.
The release of “F9” accompanies a country-wide loosening of Covid-associated limitations and a boost in the variety of theaters are open to the general public. As of this weekend, 80% of North American theaters were open, according to information from Comscore.
As vaccination rates continue to increase and the variety of coronavirus cases decrease customer self-confidence in going back to theater has actually increased. These audiences are likewise being exposed to fresh film marketing on the cinema, which might lure them to return for future releases — especially motion pictures such as “F9,” which is just offered in theaters and not being launched on streaming till a later date.
In the next couple of weeks, Hollywood is launching smash hit functions like “Black Widow,” “Jungle Cruise,” “Space Jam: A New Legacy” and “Snake Eyes.”
Then later on in the summer season and into the fall audiences will experience: “Dune,” “Free Guy,” “Eternals,” “The Green Knight,” “The Suicide Squad,” “Venom: Let there be Carnage,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “No Time To Die.”
“‘F9’ is the first true summer blockbuster released in over two years and all eyes were on this performance to provide a glimpse into the future of the movie theater,” Dergarabedian stated. “And that future now looks very bright and bodes well for the big films now in the pipeline set for release in the coming weeks and months.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the moms and dad business of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the supplier of “F9.”
