Now must a pretty good time to work at Universal Pictures. In just 10 days, Furious 7 has sped up the box office charts and is now the seventh biggest grosser in the company’s history. The sixth sequel to The Fast and the Furious dropped 59% but still zoomed ahead of anything else playing in theaters, earning an estimated $60.6 million in its sophomore weekend. That is the 12th biggest second weekend of all time, just behind The Dark Knight Rises ($62.1 million). Despite that hefty drop, the film held better in its second lap than the past three films in the franchise, which dropped between 61% and 64%. The slightly lower dip can be contributed to strong word-of-mouth and minimal new competition this weekend.
With a staggering $252.5 million in 10 days, Furious 7 is already the highest grossing film in the franchise in North America, besting Fast and Furious 6‘s $238.7 million. Without a lot of big openers until May, the film has a good shot at holding the #1 spot for the next two weekends. A final of $350 million, which seemed like a far cry two weeks ago, now seems like a manageable target.
Remaining in second place was DreamWorks’ surprise hit Home, which dropped just 30% from Easter weekend to take in $19 million. Good word-of-mouth among families during March Break has continued to make the animated 3D comedy a popular choice. With $129.6 million so far, Home may not get to the $200 million mark, especially since many kids are heading back to school this week, but still, a final in the $180 to $190 million range – or roughly the same area that The Croods ($187.2 million) finished in two springs ago – is probable.
Down in third place with a mild opening was The Longest Ride, the newest Nicholas Sparks adaptation, with $13.5 million. The PG-13 romantic drama starring Scott Eastwood and Britt Robertson debuted in the lower range for Sparks novels that head to the big screen. While it did equal the $13.5 million start of The Notebook, the author’s biggest domestic hit, that film opened when ticket prices were much lower. Do no expect The Longest Ride, even with an A CinemaScore rating, to finish with six times its opening weekend like the leggy Gosling-McAdams drama. On the bright side, the film did surpass the first weekend of The Best of Me ($10 million) from last October.
