Opening revenue as expected
Released on May 19, the blockbuster "Fast & Furious" part 10 (also known as "Fast X") by French director Louis Leterrier took the global box office by storm last weekend.
"Fast X" wins big with opening weekend revenue as expected
According to Deadline, the film's weekend revenue (May 19-21) reached 319 million USD globally. In the North American market, the film earned 67.6 million USD. This figure is almost in line with the prediction made by the Hollywood Reporter a few days ago.
Thus, "Fast X" officially became the blockbuster with the second highest opening revenue since the beginning of the year, ranked after the animated film Super Mario Bros ($377 million). This is also the film with the second best opening revenue in the series, after "The Fate of the Furious" and "Furious 7".
In Vietnam, "Fast X" also has no rivals at the box office. With dense screenings, "Fast X" earned 34.1 billion VND (as of 8:00 a.m. on May 22, according to statistics from Box Office Vietnam).
The film begins with events taking place in 2011, when Dominic (Vin Diesel) - the main character and his teammates rob the property of boss Hernán Reyes.
After the clash, Hernan Reyes is killed, but his son - Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa) - remembers the grudge, planning to get revenge on Dominic and his family. Years later, Dante reappears with many allies, planning to harm the male lead's eight-year-old son.
Actor Jason Momoa plays the villain in "Fast X"
Despite its explosive box office performance, the film has not been well received by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 54% critical rating and an 84% user rating.
Collider said that the "Fast X" script was too thin, "the story in the movie seemed to stop abruptly to wait for Fast 11".
The Guardian described "Fast X" as a "silly" film with a series of "nonsensical" stories and somewhat forced action scenes.
The New York Post echoed the sentiment: “Don’t expect anything new here. Everything is recycled.” Dan Mazeau, Justin Lin, and Gary Scott Thompson wrote the script, but it feels essentially... ChatGPT writes.
What's special about the $340 million blockbuster?
"Fast X" is the 10th installment of the blockbuster "Fast & Furious" series. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Universal invested up to 340 million USD in this installment, making it the 8th most expensive film in history, about 70% higher than its predecessor.
A scene from "Fast X" was filmed in Rome, Italy.
With its expensive budget, "Fast X" is known as a lavish entertainment feast with eye-catching action scenes. For example, a car swings off a cliff, other cars appear to be magnetized, or a 26-ton truck flips upside down while moving.
From the sound of explosions to the quality of special effects, everything is superior to the common projects in Hollywood.
The film's settings are also spread across beautiful locations around the world , from the streets of Rio (Brazil) to London (UK), from Lisbon (Portugal) to Antarctica... Also because the distance between the filming locations is quite far, it was not until August 2022 that the crew completed the magnificent settings in London (UK), Rome and Turin (Italy), Lisbon (Portugal), Los Angeles (USA).
Not to mention, the film also brings together a large cast, from real stars like Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron to veteran faces Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, John Cena, Scott Eastwood...
"Fast X" brings an action-packed feast with eye-catching camera angles and complex movements.
In fact, besides the salaries for big stars, producers also do not hesitate to spend money to… destroy expensive "monster cars".
On CBR, Dennis McCarthy - the man responsible for the car models in "Fast X" can't even remember how many cars appeared in the movie.
"Somewhere between 700 and 800 cars appear in the film. We actually had to build about 250 to 300 of them, all in about seven months. Normally, it takes me a year to build a car for a customer, but for 'Fast X', I had to build 14 cars in just seven weeks.
Not to mention there are "war horses" that "break my heart" when I see them destroyed. Good scenes are one thing, but destructive scenes like explosions, crashing into cliffs... unfortunately have to be redone. Hundreds of hours of work seemed to go to waste, we stayed up all night to renovate to ensure we had props for the next morning's filming," McCarthy expressed.
Close-up of the main character Dominic Toretto's modified Dodge Charger
Proof of McCarthy's sharing is the fact that the main character Dominic Toretto's modified Dodge Charger, he built 14 similar cars, but in the end only 3 remained in perfect condition.
"So we're not only shipping cars around the world, but also shipping containers of accessories. It's a real challenge for the logistics team, but I'm still extremely excited and proud to be a part of the film," McCarthy confided.
Director Louis Leterrier said the producers did not hesitate to spend a large amount of money to make the car crash and explosion scenes. Typically, the collision scene between the car and a 1-ton iron ball on the streets of Rome.
"75% of that scene was real. The scene where the ball of fire on the streets of Rome was done with special effects. The scene where Dom and the car flipped over and caught fire was real. The cars were completely destroyed after the collision. All with the desire to bring the most genuine emotions to the audience," Leterrier revealed about the behind-the-scenes of the most memorable scene, but did not specify the budget for this scene.
Released in 2001, "Fast & Furious" became the most profitable Hollywood blockbuster series today without being based on an existing comic book.
The series has grossed over $6 billion and is an action film series that revolves around street racing and crime. The franchise is expected to end after part 11 in 2025.
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