After Justin Lin was removed from the director’s chair, with Louis Leterrier being drafted in as his replacement and undertaking a last-minute rewrite of virtually the entire script as a result, Fast X is reported to cost roughly the same as Avengers: Endgame after estimates pegged the budget at an eye-watering $340 million.
As a result, the 10th and penultimate chapter in the long-running blockbuster series is under increased expectations to perform at the box office. On the surface, it shouldn’t be too difficult for the latest entry in The Fast Saga to bring in some major numbers after the seventh and eighth installments raced past a billion dollars, while F9 managed to earn an impressive $726 million despite releasing in the midst of a pandemic-ravaged marketplace.
However, Vin Diesel might want to try and mend those fences with arch-nemesis Dwayne Johnson one more time, with the latest projections spelling potential disaster for Fast X, on domestic shores at least. Per BoxOfficePro, the latest globetrotting adventure for Dominic Toretto and the family is on course for a debut weekend of between $65 and $75 million.
Should it wind up on the low end, then it would mark the lowest-grossing first frame for a Fast & Furious flick since 2009. which came before Fast Five reinvented the property into the ludicrous behemoth we all know and love today. International earnings might be able to save it, but with the grand finale locked in and Leterrier returning, perhaps star and producer Diesel will be forced to pull out all of the stops to bring The Rock back into the fold.
