By Pamela McClintock
In only its second weekend, Universal’s Furious 7
hit $800.5 million at the worldwide box office in another victorious
lap for the final film from the late Paul Walker and passing up the
entire run of Fast and Furious 6.
The
high-octane action pic took in another $195 million overseas from 66
markets for a foreign total of $548 million and staying No. 1
everywhere. Domestically, Furious 7 earned $60.6 million for a 10-day total of $252.2 million.
And in China, Furious 7
debuted to a massive $68.8 million on Sunday — the biggest single-day
gross in history for the world’s second-largest moviegoing market. It
was also the biggest day ever in terms of attendance. Furious 7 also launched in Russia, grossing $15 million for the biggest four-day opening of all time.
Thanks to Furious 7, the franchise has now earned north of $3 billion globally for Universal ($3.18 billion to be exact).
In 2013, Fast 6 grossed $789 million, then a franchise best, including nearly $239 domestically and $550 million overseas.
This time out, the plot pits Dominic Toretto and crew (which includes Michelle Rodriguez and Tyrese
Gibson, among others, as well as Walker) against Jason Statham’s Deckard
Shaw, out for revenge after the death of his brother. Dwayne Johnson
also reprises his role as Hobbs.
After
Walker’s death, director James Wan, writer Chris Morgan and Universal
pored over existing footage and tweaked the script, with production
resuming in April 2014. To complete the film, CGI and voice effects were
used in some scenes featuring Walker’s detective character, Brian
O'Conner, with Walker’s brothers, , used as stand-ins.
Watch a clip on the science of ‘Furious 7′ below:
