“Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” will be the ninth installment in one of the most successful franchises in Hollywood’s history. The first film, “The Fast and the Furious,” was released in 2001. Actors in the past movies have come and gone. However, the franchise has brought in $1.517 billion in domestic ticket sales since then. The worldwide figure is $5.1 billion.
The new installment is expected to do very well. Universal, which distributes the film, anticipates first-weekend ticket sales of $60 million in the United States, according to Box Office Mojo. It eventually will be released in 63 markets.
It will need to do well, as the cost of production is estimated at $200 million. This is a lot of money for a movie, even by Hollywood’s standards, though some films have cost even more. These are the most expensive movies ever made.
Hobbs and Shaw are characters from earlier installments of the franchise, and each is played by a famous actor. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who is one of the most well-known actors and who may be the most bankable action star in the world, plays Luke Hobbs, a federal agent. Aging action star Jason Statham plays Deckard Shaw, a villain.
The movie has received mixed reviews so far, although action movie successes often have little to do with reviews. Review site Rotten Tomatoes shows, 71% of professional critics gave positive reviews. Among ticket buyers, the figure jumps to 92%.
“Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” will push the franchise up the list of most successful franchises of all time. It currently ranks 15th, just behind Transformers and just ahead of Pirates of the Caribbean. If the film brings in the average of what its precursors have, which is $189 million, the franchise easily could jump to the 12th position. In addition, the next film in the franchise is expected to come out next year, followed by another in 2021. Those almost certainly will push the franchise into the top 10 of all time. At that point, the franchise releases will have spanned 20 years, earning a spot among the most successful movies ever, especially when it comes to money. These are the top grossing movie franchises of all time.
Experts expect “Hobbs & Shaw” to open as number one at the box office this weekend. Based on the franchise history, that should be no surprise.
| Rank | Title | Gross | Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Furious 7 | $353,007,020 | 4/3/2015 |
| 2 | Fast & Furious 6 | $238,679,850 | 5/24/2013 |
| 3 | The Fate of the Furious | $226,008,385 | 4/14/2017 |
| 4 | Fast Five | $209,837,675 | 4/29/2011 |
| 5 | Fast and Furious | $155,064,265 | 4/3/2009 |
| 6 | The Fast and the Furious | $144,533,925 | 6/22/2001 |
| 7 | 2 Fast 2 Furious | $127,154,901 | 6/6/2003 |
| 8 | The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift | $62,514,415 | 6/16/2006 |
| TOTAL | $1,516,800,436 |