It was never a matter of "if" Furious 7 would win the weekend, but by how much it would win. The film dominated the weekend in its second frame and scorched the record books in multiple ways. As a result all involved likely are even more teed up for F8, F8te, Fast & Furious 8 or whatever creative title Universal (a subsidiary of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)) can dream up. Although, is it even feasible to think this type of success can be duplicated?
Let's start with what Furious 7 did this weekend though as the actioner continues to speed through history burning past marks in its wake. Let this fact sink in…when Fast & Furious 6 ended its run in 2013, it had earned $238 million domestically…ten days into Furious 7's run, it has amassed over $250 million.
That impressive feat not only makes it the most profitable film in the franchise but with another $60 million this weekend, is the fastest film in the studio's history to break the $200 million milestone. Furious 7 also has the third most profitable second week frame for a film for a pre-summer film. Incidentally, the leader in that category was also set this year as it was Warner Brothers' American Sniper with $64.6 million.
Worldwide the result is the same as the movie internationally pulled in another $195 million which takes it near $550 million, which is another record for Universal. Globally the film has pulled in more than $800 million and it stands a real chance to break the $1 billion mark. Franchise-wise all seven combined have now topped the $3 billion mark. It's no wonder Universal wants to make three more of them.
Investor Analysis
The question though then becomes: would three more potential sequels meet this level of success? Honestly, the answer is likely no as this one was largely driven by the fact it was the final film of star Paul Walker. Walker was a likeable, charming and talented rising star and he had tons of fans all looking at Furious 7 as a way to pay their respects to the late actor.
The producers handled his exit beautifully and audiences in kind responded by strongly supporting the film. Universal did everything right with Furious 7 and it's a model for how other studios should market and promote films that produce unexpected challenges.
That said, from a financial perspective, investors and executives cannot expect this level of success for future installments which would likely go in some type of a new direction. It's also not like Universal is hurting for franchises as shareholders are aware three (Pitch Perfect 2, Jurassic World, Ted 2) of the next five studio releases are sequels and one is a spin-off (Minions).
What investors also need to remember is that Universal last year proved it doesn't need big blockbusters to succeed. Every film on its summer roster was made for under $40 million and most of them made back initial productions costs (and in some cases a lot more). This is a well-rounded studio aligned with a powerful television network like NBC, a strong array of cable channels headlined by USA and a theme park that has done boffo business as of late thanks to a certain "boy wizard."
2015 has also so far been a banner year with Sniper, Fifty Shades of Grey, SpongeBob, Cinderella and even the final Hobbit film spilling over to, along with Furious 7, create a stark opposite to the dismal 2014 totals that plagued studios and its shareholders. When years like this come around, those with financial involvement need to be thankful they got in when thy did but they have to be careful because the odds of this repeating are not good…and honestly, given some of the circumstances, it's not something anyone would wish for.
