Will The Fate of the Furious Shatter Box Office Records?

DreamWorks Animation’sThe Boss Babyhad no trouble repeating for a second straightbox office winlast weekend, taking in $26.3 million, easily knocking back newcomersSmurfs: The Lost Village($13.2 million),Going in Style($11.9 million) andThe Case for Christ($3.9 million). This weekend, only one movie arrives in wide release, Universal’sThe Fate of the Furious, with Open Road Films' animated taleSparkopening in just 350 theaters, far less than originally expected, which is probably a good thing for that movie, since it would have likely been just decimated by this high-octane sequel. With nothing standing in its way, we’re predicting thatFurious 8will debut with a record-breaking $152.6 million this weekend.

If that figure is accurate, it will break the all-time April opening weekend record of $147.1 million set by its predecessorFurious 7in 2015. That movie opened in 4,004 theaters two years ago, butBox Office Mojoreports thatFurious 8will open in more than 4,200 theaters this weekend, with Rotten Tomatoes also revealing that the movie is already a critical hit with a 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The RT rating is ironically the exact same rating thatFurious 7was given, and with the sequel opening in 200 more theaters than its predecessor, it should have no trouble whatsoever beating the April opening weekend record.

The sheer fact that no other studio is putting a movie againstThe Fate of the Furiousis just one sign of how this franchise came from humble roots to utterly dominate at the box office. The 2001 filmThe Fast and the Furious, which first brought together Dominic Torreto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker), was a surprise hit for Universal, opening with $40 million en route to $144.5 million domestic and $207.2 million worldwide, from a $38 million budget. The 2003 sequel2 Fast 2 Furiousdid not bring backVin Diesel, but tookPaul Walker’s Brian O’Connor to Miami, introducing franchise favorites Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej Parker (Ludacris), earning $127.1 million domestic and $236.3 million worldwide, from a $73 million budget, although 2006’sThe Fast and Furious: Tokyo Driftseverely underperformed with just $62.5 million domestic and $158.4 million worldwide.

While that third movie’s take would normally cause the end of most franchises, it essentially helped give birth to this franchise’s rebirth, withTokyo DriftwriterChris Morgantaking the creative reins of the franchise, writing every other movie since then. After a brief cameo at the end ofTokyo Drift,Vin Diesel’sDominic Torettofully returned in 2009’sFast & Furious, which earned $155 million domestic and $363.1 million worldwide, from an $85 million budget. The 2011 follow-upFast FiveintroducedDwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs into the franchise, which helped take it to new heights with $209.8 million domestically and $626.1 million worldwide, from a $125 million budget. 2013’sFast & Furious 6earned $238.6 million domestically and $788.6 million worldwide, but 2015’sFurious 7truly took the franchise to new heights with a franchise-best $353 million domestically and $1.5 billion worldwide, from a whopping $190 million budget.

The only thing that may have the potential to hurt this sequel is the supposed “feud” between starsVin DieselandDwayne Johnson, which fans first heard about during the final week of production, whenDwayne Johnsontook to social media to call some of his unidentified male co-stars “candy-asses.” WhileDwayne Johnsonwould never identify who his rant was targeted at,Vin Dieselwas fingered, although the studio claimed it had all been resolved and that it wouldn’t hurt the movie when it came time to promoting the sequel. However, there were reports that bothVin DieselandDwayne Johnsonwere being kept separated during the promotional tour, sinceDwayne Johnsonattended CinemaCon for two straight days, to promote different projects, although he left town the day before theFast 8team arrived.

On the heels of 2015’sFurious 7, one of the fastest movies to reach $1 billion worldwide in box-office history and the sixth-biggest global title of all time, comes the newest chapter in one of the most popular and enduring motion-picture serials of all time,The Fate of the Furious. Now that Dom and Letty are on their honeymoon and Brian and Mia have retired from the game, and the rest of the crew has been exonerated, the globetrotting team has found a semblance of a normal life. But when a mysterious woman (Oscar winner Charlize Theron) seduces Dom into the world of crime he can’t seem to escape and a betrayal of those closest to him, they will face trials that will test them as never before. From the shores of Cuba and the streets of New York City to the icy plains off the arctic Barents Sea, our elite force will crisscross the globe to stop an anarchist from unleashing chaos on the world’s stage…and to bring home the man who made them a family.

We’re predicting the top 10 will be rounded out byBeauty and the Beast($14.7 million),The Boss Baby($12.6 million),Smurfs: The Lost Village($7.1 million),Going in Style($6.2 million),Ghost in the Shell($3.9 million),Power Rangers($3 million),Kong: Skull Island($2.7 million),Logan($2.1 million) andGet Out($2 million). Also opening in limited release is Indican horror film7 Witches, Abramorama’s documentaryChasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary, The Orchard’s documentaryJeremiah Tower, Bleecker Street’s action-adventureThe Lost City of Z, Sony Pictures Classic’s dramatic thrillerNorman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, Music Box Films' dramaA Quiet Passion, Under the Milky Way’s dramaThe Studentand Roadside Attractions' dramaTommy’s Honour. Fox Searchlight’sGiftedalso expands to 1,000 theaters, and it’s possible that it could squeak out an appearance in the top 10, although that seems unlikely.

Looking ahead to next weekend, five new films will arrive in wide release, as we get closer and closer to the summer movie season kicking off. Warner Bros. will debutUnforgettablealongside Disney’s documentaryBorn in China, A24’sFree Fire, Open Road Films’The Promiseand Cinelou Films’Phoenix Forgotten. Also opening in limited release is IFC’s documentaryCitizen Janeand MUBI’sThe Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki. Take a look at our top 10 projections below, and check back on Sunday for the box office estimates for the weekend of April 14.