The Fast and Furious franchise is worth a lot of money, so it comes as no surprise that another sequel, Fast 9, is already on the books for April 2019.
The Fast and the Furious has been around since the early 2000s. But unlike other long standing franchises, it’s kept most of the same main cast, though this does not include 2 Fast 2 Furious and Tokyo Drift, which we just consider experiments. Additionally, those two entries also made the least amount of money domestically. It’s never just Paul Walker or Vin Diesel, but the combination of the family.
The Fast and the Furious flicks boast a wonderfully diverse cast that, likely intentionally, boosts their performance overseas.
To understand just how and why this franchise has endured for so long, let’s break down the numbers. (Listed worldwide / domestic)
"1. Furious 7 (2015) $1,516.0 / $353.02. Fast & Furious 6 (2013) $788.7 / $238.73. Fast Five (2011) $626.1 / $209.84. Fast and Furious (2009) $363.2 / $155.15. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) $236.4 / $127.26. The Fast and the Furious (2001) $207.3 / $144.57. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) $158.5 / $62.5"
As you can see, the recent films enjoyed generous upticks worldwide with every release. In fact, they make more than double overseas in most cases. Even more fascinating is their rigid release schedule — every two years, and always in the first half of the year. Most of this just proves that the fanbase is strong and pretty much expects these movies to come out.
So far, we know that the current story consists of 10 films. We have seven in the bank with an eighth due this weekend. In February, star Vin Diesel confirmed the release dates of the next two films, Fast 9 and Fast 10. Those films hit theaters on April 19, 2019 and April 2, 2021, respectively.
Furthermore, Fast 8 intends to rev a new trilogy into gear with its accompanying sequels.
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Like a 10-second car with an engine that’s been rebuilt from the ground up, as long as the franchise performs as reliably as we expect it to, it will continue to release films one quarter-mile at a time.