10 Details & Problems Facing The Franchise

Warning: This post contains minor spoilers for Fast X

Fast Xraced into theaters on May 19, but it hasn’t quite reached the same heights when it comes to its global box office numbers. The franchise began over two decades ago, with The Fast and the Furious in 2001, and it’s been growing steadily ever since. Fast X is just the latest installment as the franchise nears its end.

Fast X sees the return of Dom Toretto and his race car driving family. They’ve come a long way since their humble beginnings, with the tenth installment introducing one of Dom’s greatest villains in Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa). Despite an exciting line-up and returning characters in Luke Hobbs and Gisele, Fast X didn’t make as much as its more recent predecessors at the box office.

10 Fast X Will Not Make $1 Billion At The Box Office

As of this writing, Fast X has made $604.86 million at the global box office. While the tenth installment has only been in theaters for a few weeks, it won’t surpass the $1 billion threshold, especially as its box office continues to drop over the next several weeks and newer releases take precedence in theaters. Domestically, Fast X has made around $128.8 million thus far. While the film won’t make it across $1 billion on its own, Fast X racing past the $600 million mark puts the Fast & Furious franchise past the $7 billion mark — a major achievement that’s been years in the making.

9 Fast X’s Opening Weekend Is Lower Than F9

Despite Fast X helping the Fast & Furious franchise reach a milestone by surpassing the $7 billion mark, the film’s opening weekend numbers were actually lower than that of F9, which grossed approximately $70 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend. Fast X, on the other hand, only grossed $67 million in its opening weekend in the U.S. While F9 had already made $141.9 million domestically by its third week of release, Fast X is behind, having only accumulated $128.8 million.

8 Fast X’s Domestic Box Office Continues Franchise’s Decline

Fast X is not the lowest-grossing of the Fast & Furious franchise — it ranks number 9 in the overall saga — but it does signal fading box office domination for the franchise. It’s the first Fast & Furious sequel to make less than $150 million at the domestic box office since the fourth installment, Fast & Furious, was released in 2009. This suggests the franchise is in a slow decline, with the last two films not making the top five in the saga’s domestic box office gross. Considering Fast X is the beginning of the end for the franchise, the film’s domestic box office is not reflecting that at all.

7 Fast & Furious’ Box Office Peaked With 7 & 8

With such a rich history, the Fast & Furious franchise really hit its franchise stride with Fast Five, but the saga peaked at the box office with Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious, which made $1.5 billion and $1.2 billion at the global box office, respectively. The seventh and eighth installments are the cream of the crop when it comes to the franchise’s box office power. By the time the films were released, the Fast & Furious franchise had plenty of action and story momentum to keep things fresh and exciting for audiences. It had really found its groove, and the box office number reflected moviegoers’ hunger for more.

6 Fast & Furious Budgets Are Too High In Comparison To Their Box Office

There is no question that the Fast & Furious franchise’s budget is high, and has been steadily increasing since the release of the first film in 2001. Fast X cost $340 million to make, but if it rakes in at least $700 million at the box office, it’s not as big of a win because of its budget being so high. F9’s budget, which was between $200-$225 million, was also high when compared with its box office gross, and the team behind the Fast & Furious movies might want to adjust the budget now that the films’ box office domination is dwindling.

5 Fast X’s Box Office Isn’t A Huge Start For The Franchise Finale

The Fast & Furious saga is ending with a two-part finale (and a potential 12th film might be in the works as well), with Fast X marking the start of the decades-spanning franchise’s end. While Fast X made money at the box office, and is the third highest grossing film of 2023 so far, its box office numbers didn’t indicate a huge start for the franchise’s finale. With another film on the way, Fast X’s numbers don’t bode well for Fast X Part 2. It’s certainly not the best start to a send-off for such a popular saga.

4 The Rock’s Box Office Decline Doesn’t Guarantee He’ll Save Fast & Furious

The Rock returned to Fast X, reprising his role as Luke Hobbs in the film’s post-credits scene. While his comeback is exciting in terms of where the story could go and in healing Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel’s feud, Johnson’s return isn’t a guarantee that the next Fast & Furious movie’s numbers will skyrocket at the box office. The Rock’s own box office success has been on a downward spiral. Black Adam, the DC film Johnson headlined in 2023, made only $393 million worldwide, while Jungle Cruise made only $220.9 million globally (though it also had a Disney+ release).

3 Splitting Fast X Into Multiple Films Hurt Its Box Office Gross

It’s possible Fast X not being the final film in the franchise is the reason behind its lower box office gross. Fast X merely sets up the story that won’t conclude for another couple of years, offering teases and character comebacks that won’t be immediately satisfied. Fast X being a definitive ending might have meant that more people showed up to see it in theaters. As the first of a two-part finale, however, the odds are not in its favor

2 Franchise Fatigue Won’t Help Fast & Furious’s Box Office

Franchises have dominated the box office for a long time, and the Fast & Furious saga is no exception. Franchise fatigue may also be the reason behind diminishing box office returns. With ten films in the overall saga (including spin-offs) that came before it, Fast X had a lot already stacked against it. With the promise of yet another sequel to close out the franchise, it could be that moviegoers are simply tired, especially with the global box office numbers showing the franchise has already peaked. Fans will likely head out to see how things conclude in the final film, but it may not be up to par with the franchise’s best box office numbers.

1 The Fast & Furious Franchise Probably Won’t Surpass $1 Billion At The Box Office Again

With ten films and a spin-off, the Fast & Furious franchise has seen better days at the global box office. With the saga powering down, the franchise probably won’t surpass the $1 billion mark at the box office ever again. The franchise may have surpassed $7 billion at the global box office, but it will be incredibly difficult to reach the same highs that Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious got to, likely because the franchise has been going on for so long. Diminishing returns and slowing interest in the franchise means that the next film won’t tip its box office numbers over the threshold. F9 and Fast X proved as much.