‘Fast X’ opens bigger at the box office than ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,’ but still manages to disappoint

You wait years for someone to come along and headline different movies to score back-to-back victories at the domestic box office, only for three of them to come along in the space of a few months, with Vin Diesel the latest to achieve the rare milestone after Fast X dislodged Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 from the top of the charts.

Chris Pratt only just accomplished the feat when his latest Marvel Cinematic Universe outing knocked The Super Mario Bros. Movie from its perch, which was fortunate when Jonathan Majors currently held the most recent distinction by way of Creed III being immediately followed by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

However, Diesel’s latest success is a tale of two halves when you look at how Fast X has performed on a global scale. With an estimated $67 million debut on home soil, the 10th chapter in the long-running action series has scored the lowest three-day bow since Tokyo Drift netted $23 million almost two decades ago, but only if you discount spin-off Hobbs & Shaw.

Meanwhile, a hefty $319 million worldwide take puts it well ahead of the $282 million accrued by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 just a couple of weeks ago, so it looks as though international audiences once again hold the keys to how high Fast & Furious can fly. Based on history, we can infer that there’s plenty more money to be made in spite of a dip in the United States, but the real question is whether or not the lucrative Chinese market can make sure the mammoth $340 million budget ends up being worth the outlay.