‘Furious 7′ Crosses $1B Overseas; Passes ‘T4′ In China As Top-Grossing Film Ever
Universal’s juggernaut Furious 7 has just driven past the $1B mark internationally, becoming the third film in history to pass the milestone behind Avatar ($2.027B) and Titanic ($1.528B). The total offshore tally on the seventh film in the high-octane franchise is $1.001B as of today, and following a $69.7M overseas weekend. In China, it has now taken $323M and still has two weeks to play out. That bests last summer’s Transformers: Age Of Extinction to make F7 the highest-grossing film of all time in the Middle Kingdom.
The magnificent 7 already had become Universal’s top-grossing film ever on April 17, the studio’s first first-run pic to cross $1B globally. The worldwide cume is now $1.322B – giving it the fifth slot on the all-time chart behind Avatar ($2.8B) Titanic ($2.2B), The Avengers ($1.5B) and Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 ($1.341B).
Universal Pictures International President of Distribution Duncan Clark called the achievements “magnificent,” especially “at a time when the dollar is so relatively strong and local currencies are so relatively weak.” He gives particular credit to the filmmakers and the studio for “turning out the best version of a Fast & Furious film.”
Positioning the James Wan-directed actioner in a corridor with little traffic was strategic and Clark gives great credit to the efforts of the marketing team – including President of Worldwide Marketing Josh Goldstine and London-based EVP of International Marketing Simon Hewlett – calling their work “exceptional and ingenious.” A decision to go out in 3D in Asian and Latin-American territories was key, he says.
This has been an incredibly strong start to the year for Universal, whose Fifty Shades Of Grey is now at $569.1M globally. But the studio is also looking forward with such titles to come as Pitch Perfect 2, Jurassic World, Minions and Ted 2.
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