The seventh film in Universal’s Fast & Furious franchise, Furious 7, races into theaters this weekend with an incredibly wide release. Considering that it’s the last film to feature the late Paul Walker, anticipation for the movie has reached an incredible high, giving the film a chance to smash the April weekend debut record.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier currently holds the record, after it debuted to $95 million on the first weekend of April last year. Plus, Fast & Furious 6 opened to $97 million in May 2013 and the franchise’s profile has not gone anywhere since that film’s release.
With that in mind, Furious 7 shouldn’t have any problem hitting $100 million, becoming the first film to open that high this year. Entertainment Weekly is predicting an opening at $118 million, which seems a bit optimistic. But that number does put into account the fact that, since the fifth FF film, the movies have continued to score higher openings than the previous entry.
DreamWorks animation finally scored a hit with Home, which finished last weekend with $52.1 million officially. Should the film drop around 50 percent, that would be north of $25 million. It will probably do better though, with around $30 million.
Get Hard with Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart started with $34 million last week. Considering the movie was hit hard by critics, it’s poised to take a steep fall. If it drops 50 percent, that brings it to $17 million.
Insurgent and Cinderella will likely fight for the fifth spot. BoxOfficeMojo is looking at just north of $10 million for the two films.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com