"The Fate of the Furious" finds itself in familiar territory, topping the box office chart for the second weekend in a row. Taking home $38.7 million, it embarrassed the weekend's new releases, "The Promise" and "Unforgettable," both of which earning less than $5 million each. Although the latest installment in the "Fast and Furious" franchise has been pulling in less domestically than its predecessor, it's already well on its way to earning over $1 billion from movie-goers worldwide.
'Furious' lost 61% of audience in second weekend
After smashing the North American box office in its opening weekend, pulling in over $100 million, this weekend's total earnings represent a significant drop in audience across the country.
The film's producers likely aren't too worried about competition from upcoming major releases like "Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2" on May 5th, however; the international markets are what is pushing "The Fate of the Furious" ever closer to the $1 billion mark. The action flick has already smashed records with over $432 million earned outside the United States.
Including the first few weeks of the 8th film's release, the "Fast and Furious" franchise has brought in about $4.4 billion worldwide. Despite already making deals for another sequel, "The Fate of the Furious" is earning well behind its predecessor, "Furious 7." Over the same 2 week opening period, the films made $163.6 million and $250 million, respectively.
New release movies flop at box office
In the dust of "The Fate of the Furious," and with "The Boss Baby" and "Beauty and the Beauty" still running strong, this weekend's new releases didn't stand a chance at the box office, with both finishing in the bottom of the Top 10.
Although "Unforgetable" earned some decent reviews from critics, especially praising the film's actresses, the movie failed to find an audience over the weekend.
Starring Katherine Heigl, (formerly of "Grey's Anatomy"), as a spurred woman who goes on to terrorize her ex-lover's new love, the movie joins a growing list of flops released by Warner Bros. this year, including the comedies "CHIPS" and "Fist Fight."
The serious drama "The Promise" cost Open Road more than $90 million to produce, and although the proceeds of this one are being donated to charity, the producers were obviously hoping for more than its $4.1 million weekend take.
"We certainly hoped for a better box office result, Open Road’s president of marketing Jonathan Helfgot told Variety shortly after box office results were made available. About the Armenian genocide during 1915-17, the goal of the movie was more about raising awareness than earning money, Helfgot added, "it’s undeniable that there’s been more focus and attention in the past two weeks than the past hundred years since the atrocity took place."
The star of "The Promise," Oscar Issac, is expected to have at least 3 more movies out this year, including his return as Poe Dameron in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi."
