Universal’s “ The Fate of the Furious” is dazzling moviegoers worldwide with an estimated $534.2 million in box office in its launch weekend in 65 territories, Saturday estimates showed.
Should the estimate hold, it would be the largest worldwide launch weekend of all time, topping “ Star Wars: The Force Awakens” at $529 million, “Jurassic World” with $524.9 million and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” with $483.2 million.
Universal’s estimated domestic gross for the weekend is an impressive $103.8 million while the foreign total is a record-setting $430.4 million. The studio reported Friday’s international gross at $112.1 million for an early total of $194.8 million, which includes previews and territories that began launching on Wednesday.
The numbers underline increasing importance of the international box office — especially for costly high-profile tentpoles. Universal spent an estimated $250 million on “The Fate of the Furious” and is already going to see profits by the end of the weekend.