RDI - Fast X zooms to capture box-office bucks for weekend

2023-05-22 17:30:35 ET

Fast X ( NASDAQ: CMCSA ) zoomed to the lead at the weekend box office as expected, as moviegoers lined up for the tenth entry in the long-running (and long-racing) franchise.

The film grossed $67.5M in domestic theaters, according to Comscore -- more than enough to topple Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ( NYSE: DIS ), which shed another half of last week's business to land at $32M in its third weekend on screen, good enough for second place.

It's overseas where Fast X may really make bank. It added some $251.4M in international markets for the week, bringing its worldwide total to $318.9M, according to Comscore. In the key market of China in particular, it piled up more than $77M in five days, Variety reported, making it the biggest opening there for a non-Chinese film this year.

But the film was notably expensive (with a reported $340M production budget), so it will take a few more strong outings to reach a profit.

For its part, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ( DIS ) is up to $266.5M cumulative domestically and a solid $659.1M on a worldwide basis.

Other than Fast X, the weekend's ticket sales were a story of holdovers. The Super Mario Bros. Movie ( CMCSA ), 2023's biggest hit, was third-best over the weekend, adding $9.8M to its pile, and finished just ahead of Book Club: The Next Chapter ( CMCSA ), with $3M in its sophomore weekend.

The next films on the gross list: Evil Dead Rise ( NASDAQ: WBD ), with $2.4M; John Wick: Chapter 4 ( LGF.A ) ( LGF.B ) with $1.332M; and Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret ( LGF.A ) ( LGF.B ) with $1.326M.

Cinema tickers: AMC Entertainment ( NYSE: AMC ); Cineworld ( OTCPK:CNNWQ ); Cinemark ( CNK ); ( IMAX ); Marcus ( MCS ); Reading International ( RDI ); Cineplex ( CGX:CA ); National CineMedia ( NCMI ).

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