Universal
"Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw" had one of the best domestic debuts of the year so far with $60.8 million over the weekend. But in true 2019 fashion, it was still underwhelming.
"Hobbs and Shaw" had the second-worst US opening at the box office of the "Fast and Furious" franchise, which includes eight previous movies. Before inflation, "Hobbs and Shaw" topped the first three movies in the series.
But after adjusting for inflation, only the third movie, "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," had a worst opening with $33 million, according to Box Office Mojo. After inflation, "The Fast and the Furious" and "2 Fast 2 Furious" made $63 million and $75 million in their debuts, respectively.
The upside for "Hobbs and Shaw," which cost $200 million to produce, is that it is faring well overseas. It raked in $120 million over the weekend in international markets and that's not even including China, where it could be a massive hit. It opens in the region August 23.
The "Fast and Furious" franchise has grossed over $5 billion worldwide combined, thanks largely to its internationally success. The last two movies in the series, "Furious 7" and "The Fate of the Furious," both made over $1 billion worldwide, with the majority of the box office coming from overseas markets. They each made over $390 million in China alone.
"'Fast and Furious' has been at the forefront of the multi-cultural, internationally flavored action-movie genre since its inception and this has paid massive long-term dividends in the global marketplace," the Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Business Insider last week. "'Hobbs and Shaw' should benefit similarly from that international vibe."