The Fast and the Furious 8 had a solid week 1 at the Indian box-office, raking in Rs.57 crore through the extended week. The film saw an early release in India, considering the country is one of the most important markets for the franchise.
Preview shows for the film were up on second half of Wednesday. The preview collections of the film were above par, considering the film saw very limited screens on Wednesday. Fast 8 managed to bring in Rs 8.50 crore in the preview shows. This is the biggest preview opening for any Hollywood flick in India.
Fast 8 is directed by F. Gary Grey and written by Chris Morgan. The film stars Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Ludacris and Charlize Theron in the lead.
The film was released in full capacity from Thursday onwards with over 2,000 screens. Despite being a non- holiday mid-week release, Fast 8 grossed Rs 13.5 crore on the opening day. The film was strong in the multiplexes and the single screens added a lot of moolah as well. Looking at the first week’s number, exhibitors might take the film forward to week 2 with more than 1,500 screens.
Fast 8 saw a very good weekend despite competition from Begum Jaan which tanked at the box-office. The movie remained the first choice for moviegoers. Despite of the poor reviews and bad iMDB ratings, the movie managed to bring the audience to the theatres.
The Fast and the Furious 8 broke all records in the international market by becoming the biggest weekend opener of all time. Fast 8 grossed $100 million from the domestic American market and a whopping $180 million from China. The movie also broke the record of The Star Wars: Force Awakens, which held the record for the highest opening weekend ever.
Fast 8’s early debut in India gave the theatre owners and distributors a sigh of relief as April witnessed very low percentage of audience in the theatres, mainly because of the start of IPL.
The second week will be very crucial for the film in order to touch the 100-crore mark. With Fast 7 being the first Hollywood film to enter the 100-crore club, Fast 8 must keep up the good business in order to achieve the fate. The movie will face competition from Sonakshi Sinha-starrer Noor and Jessica Chastain-starrer The Zookeeper’s Wife, which has received good reviews.
