Box Office Report: Fast Five Speeds Off With $83 Million

Who would have thought that the Fast and Furious film franchise, at this stage, would be pulling in these kind of numbers">Justin Lin to thank for one of the most successful entries of the Fast and Furious franchise. The fifth chapter of the Fast and Furious franchise had out grossed its predecessors in one weekend alone. Universal’s box office hit stall may have ended due to its decision to shift its gears for their high-octane car franchise, changing it from an underground street racing focus to an action heist film with cars.

Water for Elephants also earned top five slots at the box office this weekend and combined for approximate $34 million over the weekend.

Accelerating towards the number one spot, Universal’s Fast Five has grossed an explosive $83.6 million in its opening weekend, leaving its preceding Fast and Furious films in the dust. Directed by Justin Lin, the film averaged $22,950 in 3,644 theaters. In what has been considered one of the weakest years’ in film, the fifth entry in the Fast and Furious franchise was able to pick up the box office slack that Hollywood has been experiencing in the past few months.

Universal studio execs are breathing a sigh of relief as they have waited for a box office smash of their own for quite some time. Fast Five was even able to double the numbers that Universal’s previous April hit Hop produced. This weekend’s total was high enough to break the record for the biggest box office opening in April, a record that was previously held by Fast and Furious.

In the midst of Fast Five’s box office boom, two weeks at the number one spot, Rio took its cumulative gross to $103.7 million. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family grossed $10.5 million and lost the expected audience most Tyler Perry films lose after the first weekend. The film has grossed $41 million in its ten-day run.