Furious 7
| Furious 7 | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | James Wan |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Chris Morgan |
| Based on | Characters by Gary Scott Thompson |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Brian Tyler |
| Cinematography |
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| Edited by |
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Production company |
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 137 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States[2] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $190 million[3] |
| Box office | $1.516 billion[3] |
Furious 7 (alternatively known as Fast & Furious 7 and Fast 7)[4] is a 2015 American action film directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan. It is the seventh installment in The Fast and the Furious franchise. The film stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Djimon Hounsou, Kurt Russell, and Jason Statham. Furious 7 follows Dominic Toretto (Diesel), Brian O'Conner (Walker), and the rest of their team, who have returned to the United States to live normal lives after securing amnesty for their past crimes in Fast & Furious 6 (2013), until Deckard Shaw (Statham), a rogue special forces assassin seeking to avenge his comatose younger brother, puts the team in danger once again.
With the previous three installments set between 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Furious 7 is the first installment in the franchise to take place after Tokyo Drift. The film also marks the final film appearance of Walker, who died in a single-vehicle crash on November 30, 2013 with filming only half-completed.[5] Following Walker's death, filming was delayed for script rewrites, and his brothers, Caleb and Cody, were used as stand-ins to complete his remaining scenes.[6] These script rewrites completed the story arcs for both Walker and Brewster's characters (Brian O'Conner and Mia Toretto, respectively), causing both to be retired. As a result, it is also the final installment in the franchise to star Brewster.
Plans for a seventh installment were first announced in February 2012 when Johnson stated that production on the film would begin after the completion of Fast & Furious 6. In April 2013, Wan, predominantly known for horror films, was announced to direct the film in place of Justin Lin, who left the franchise after directing the previous four installments. Casting began in the same month with the re-signing of Diesel and Walker, and an initial release date was set. Principal photography began in Atlanta, Georgia, in September 2013, resumed in April 2014 and ended in July 2014, with other filming locations including Los Angeles, Colorado, Abu Dhabi, and Tokyo.
Furious 7 premiered in Los Angeles on April 1, 2015, and was theatrically released in the United States on April 3, 2015, playing in 3D, IMAX 3D, and 4DX internationally. Upon release, the film became a critical and commercial success, with praise being aimed at the film's action sequences and its tribute to Walker. The film grossed $397.6 million worldwide during its opening weekend, which is the sixth highest-grossing opening of all time. The film has grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide – more than the franchise's first five installments combined – making it the highest-grossing film of the franchise after just twelve days, the third highest-grossing film of 2015[7] and the sixth highest-grossing film of all time. A sequel, The Fate of the Furious, was released on April 14, 2017.
Contents
[hide]Plot
After defeating Owen Shaw and his crew and securing amnesty for their past crimes, Dominic "Dom" Toretto, Brian O'Conner and the rest of their team have returned to the United States to live normal lives again. Brian begins to accustom himself to life as a father, while Dom tries to help Letty Ortiz regain her memory. Meanwhile, Owen's older brother, Deckard Shaw, breaks into the secure hospital that the comatose Owen is being held in and swears vengeance against Dom and his team, before breaking into Luke Hobbs' Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) office to extract profiles of Dom's crew. After revealing his identity, Shaw engages Hobbs in a fight, and escapes when he detonates a bomb that severely injures Hobbs. Dom later learns from his sister Mia that she is pregnant again and convinces her to tell Brian. However, a bomb, disguised in a package sent from Tokyo, explodes and destroys the Toretto house just seconds after Han, a member of Dom's team, is killed by Shaw in Tokyo. Dom later visits Hobbs in a hospital, where he learns that Shaw is a rogue special forces assassin seeking to avenge his brother. Dom then travels to Tokyo to claim Han's body, and meets and races Sean Boswell, a friend of Han's who gives him personal items found at Han's crash site.
Back at Han's funeral in Los Angeles, Dom notices a car observing them, and after a chase, confronts its driver, who is revealed to be Shaw. Both prepare to fight, but Shaw flees when a covert ops team arrives and opens fire, led by Frank Petty, a man who calls himself Mr. Nobody. Petty says that he will assist Dom in stopping Shaw if he helps him obtain God's Eye, a computer program that uses digital devices to track down a person, and save its creator, a hacker named Ramsey, from a mercenary named Mose Jakande. Dom, Brian, Letty, Roman Pearce, and Tej Parker then airdrop their cars over the Caucasus Mountains in Azerbaijan, ambush Jakande's convoy, and rescue Ramsey. The team then heads to Abu Dhabi, where a billionaire has acquired the flash drive containing God's Eye, and manages to steal it from the owner. With God's Eye near telecommunications repeaters, the team tracks down Shaw, who is waiting at a remote factory. Dom, Brian, Petty and his team attempt to capture Shaw, but are ambushed by Jakande and his men and forced to flee while Jakande obtains God's Eye. At his own request, the injured Petty is then left behind to be evacuated by helicopter while Brian and Dom continue without him. Left with no other choice, the crew returns to Los Angeles to fight Shaw, Jakande and his men. Meanwhile, Brian promises Mia that once they deal with Shaw, he will retire and fully dedicate himself to their family.
While Jakande pursues Brian and the rest of the team with a stealth helicopter and an aerial drone, Ramsey attempts to hack into God's Eye. Hobbs, seeing the team in trouble, leaves the hospital and destroys the drone with an ambulance. Ramsey then regains control of God's Eye and shuts it down. Brian engages Kiet a second time and kills him by making him fall down an elevator shaft. Meanwhile, Dom and Shaw engage in a one-on-one brawl on a parking garage, before Jakande intervenes and attacks them both. Shaw is defeated when part of the parking garage collapses beneath him. Dom then launches his vehicle at Jakande's helicopter, tossing Shaw's bag of grenades onto its skids, before injuring himself when his car lands and crashes. Hobbs then shoots the bag of grenades from ground level, destroying the helicopter and killing Jakande. Dom is pulled from the wreckage of his car, believed to be dead. As Letty cradles Dom's body in her arms, she reveals that she has regained her memories, and that she remembers their wedding. Dom regains consciousness soon after, remarking, "It's about time".
Shaw is taken into custody by Hobbs and locked away in a secret, high-security prison. At a beach, Brian and Mia play with their son while Dom, Letty, Roman, Tej, and Ramsey observe, acknowledging that Brian is better off retired with his family. Dom silently leaves, Ramsey asks if he's gonna say goodbye. Dom says, "It's never goodbye." He drives away, but Brian catches up with him at a crossroad. As Dom remembers the times that he had with Brian, they bid each other farewell and drive off in separate directions.
Cast
- Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, a former criminal and professional street racer who has retired and settled down with his wife, Letty.
- Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner, a former FBI agent turned criminal and professional street racer who has retired and settled down with his partner, Mia, and their son, Jack. This was Walker's last role in a film before his death in November 2013.
- Caleb and Cody Walker, Paul's younger brothers, were used among others as stand-ins to complete his remaining scenes following their brother's death in a single-vehicle crash on November 30, 2013.[6]
- Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs, a DSS agent who allied with Dom and his team after their outings in Rio de Janeiro and Europe. Johnson initially said that if Universal Pictures pursued the accelerated development of a seventh film beginning in the summer, he would be unable to participate due to scheduling conflicts with filming on Hercules.[8] However, as production for the film would commence in September, he confirmed his return for the film, as Hercules would complete production in time to enable him to film a significant part.[9]
- Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz, Dom's wife and a professional street racer, who was revealed to have suffered from amnesia after being presumed dead in Fast & Furious.
- Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce, a former criminal and childhood friend of Brian from Barstow, and a member of Dom's team.
- Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Tej Parker, a mechanic from Miami and a member of Dom's team.
- Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto, Dom's younger sister and a former member of his team who has settled down with her partner, Brian, and their son, Jack.
- Djimon Hounsou as Mose Jakande, a Somali mercenary and terrorist who leads a private military company that allies with Shaw and uses the God's Eye to track its creator and use her to track down his enemies.[10]
- Tony Jaa as Kiet, a member of Jakande's team who possesses great agility, athleticism and fighting prowess. Thai martial arts actor Jaa was confirmed to have joined the cast in August 2013, making his Hollywood debut.[11][12]
- Ronda Rousey as Kara, the Head of Security for an Abu Dhabi billionaire. Rousey's involvement was confirmed in August 2013. Having committed to The Expendables 3 at the same time (along with Russell, who later pulled out, and Statham), Rousey was forced to shoot both films back-to-back in order to allow herself 45 days to focus on training for her UFC championship rematch against Miesha Tate. Her participation in the film was similar to that of Gina Carano making the transition from mixed martial arts fighting to acting, following Carano's involvement in Fast & Furious 6.[13]
- Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey, a British computer hacktivist and the creator of the God's Eye, who allies with Dom and his team after being saved from Jakande and helps them to regain control of her program.[10]
- Kurt Russell as Mr. Nobody, the leader of a covert ops team who agrees to help Dom stop Shaw if he can help him prevent Jakande from obtaining a computer program called the God's Eye.
- Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw, a rogue special forces assassin seeking to avenge his comatose younger brother after his demise at the hands of Dom and his team in Spain.
- Sung Kang as Han, a member in Dominic's crew, appearing in archive footage.
- Gal Gadot as Gisele, a member in Dominic's crew, appearing in archive footage.
- Lucas Black as Sean Boswell, an American street racer who lives in Tokyo whom Dom meets when he travels to Tokyo to claim the body of Han, a mutual friend of theirs killed by Shaw. In September, it was confirmed that Black had signed on to reprise his role as Boswell for Furious 7 and two more installments.[14][15]
- Elsa Pataky as Elena Neves, a DSS agent and former Rio police officer who moved to the United States to become Hobbs' new partner at the DSS.
- Noel Gugliemi as Hector, a street race organizer, reprising his role from the first film.
- John Brotherton as Sheppard, Mr. Nobody's right-hand man.[10][16][17][18]
- Ali Fazal plays Safar, a friend of Ramsey to whom she sent the God's Eye for safekeeping. Fazal described his role as a cameo.[19]
- Luke Evans briefly reprises his role from the previous film as Owen Shaw, the comatose younger brother of the film's primary antagonist.[20]
- Australian rapper Iggy Azalea makes a cameo appearance as a Race Wars fan and a female racer; she contributed to the soundtrack.[21][22][23] American singer-rapper T-Pain appears as himself as he DJs a party in Abu Dhabi.[24][25] Klement Tinaj cameos as a Race Wars Racer.[26]
- Bow Wow and Nathalie Kelley appear in archive footage from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift as Twinkie and Neela, respectively. Tego Calderón and Don Omar appear as Leo and Santos, respectively, in archive footage from Fast Five.
Production
Development
On October 21, 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported that Universal Studios was considering filming two sequels—Fast Six and Fast Seven—back-to-back with a single storyline running through both films. Both would be written by Chris Morgan and directed by Justin Lin, who had been the franchise's writer and director, respectively, since The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006).[27] on December 20, 2011, following the release of Fast Five, Vin Diesel stated that Fast Six would be split into two parts, with writing for the two films occurring simultaneously. on the decision, Diesel said:[28]
We have to pay off this story, we have to service all of these character relationships, and when we started mapping all that out it just went beyond 110 pages ... The studio said, 'You can't fit all that story in one damn movie!'[28]
However, in an interview on February 15, 2012, Dwayne Johnson stated that the two intended sequels would no longer be filmed simultaneously because of weather issues in filming locations, and that production on Fast Seven would only begin after the completion of Fast Six.[29]
In April 2013, during post-production of the retitled Fast & Furious 6, Lin announced that he would not return to direct a seventh film, as the studio wanted to produce the film on an accelerated schedule for release in summer 2014. This would have required Lin to begin pre-production on the sequel while performing post-production on Fast & Furious 6, which he considered would affect the quality of the final product. Despite the usual two-year gap between the previous installments, Universal chose to pursue a sequel quicker due to having fewer reliable franchises than its competitor studios.[30] However, subsequent interviews with Lin have suggested that the sixth film was always intended to be the final installment under his direction.[31]
In April 2013, Australian director James Wan, predominantly known for horror films, was announced as the sequel's director, with Neal H. Moritz and Michael Fottrell returning to produce and Morgan returning to write the script, his fifth in the franchise. on April 16, 2013, Diesel announced that the sequel would be released on July 11, 2014.[32] In May 2013, Diesel said that the sequel would feature Los Angeles, Tokyo, and the Middle East as locations.[33][34]
Filming
Principal photography began in early September 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia, with a casting call issued.[35][36] Abu Dhabi was also a filming location;[37] the production crew chose it over Dubai, as they would benefit from the Emirate's 30% rebate scheme.[38] Pikes Peak Highway in Colorado was closed in September to film some driving sequences.[39]
On September 16, the production filmed with Paul Walker and the Kimsey twins, playing his son, Jack,[40] in front of an Atlanta elementary school.[41] Han's funeral scene was filmed at Oakland Cemetery,[42] with extras needed for the scene being "hot, hip and trendy cool types of all ethnicities between the ages of 18 and 45".[43] on the evening of September 19, Lucas Black joined the production[44] for his sole scene with Diesel, in an Atlanta parking garage. Separate scenes with Walker also shot in the same location on the same night,[45] including one half of a phone conversation between his character and Jordana Brewster's. The day after, Diesel posted a picture from the night shoot with Black on his Facebook page.[46]
On October 24, over a month into the film's production, Johnson tweeted he had started shooting for the film after wrapping up on Hercules.[47] Five days later, Diesel posted the first photo of Johnson on the set, in the hospital scene.[48]
On November 30, 2013, while on a break for the Thanksgiving holiday, Walker, who portrayed Brian O'Conner, died in a single-vehicle accident.[49][50] The next day, Universal announced that production would continue after a delay that would allow the filmmakers to rework the film.[51] on December 4, 2013, Universal put production on hold indefinitely.[52] Wan later confirmed that the film had not been cancelled.[53][54][55] on December 22, 2013, Diesel announced on his Facebook page that the film would be released on April 10, 2015.[56] on February 27, 2014, The Hollywood Reporter reported that filming would resume on April 1, and that the cast and crew had headed to Atlanta to prepare for about eight more weeks of shooting.[57] Principal photography ended on July 10, 2014.[4]
Stunts
The "air drop" sequence was conceived by stunt coordinator, Spiro Razatos, who also supervised on the franchise's two previous installments; Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6.[61][62] Razatos told Business Insider that he wanted to rely more on real stunts rather than CGI because he wanted the whole sequence to "feel real" and fulfill audience's expectations.[61] The stunt took months of prep-solving problems. Cameras needed to be mounted onto cars in a way that they would not be destroyed when the cars landed, and the crew had to figure out a safe way to get the cars out of the plane. They performed a dry run with a single car falling out of a plane[61] and did this six times.[62] Cars were dropped from a Lockheed C-130 Hercules high above the Arizona desert, but close up shots that show the cars landing on a mountain road were filmed in Colorado.[62] There were two airplanes, flying at a height of 12,000 feet, each dropping two cars apiece.[61] BRS parachutes enabled with GPS were secured to each of the cars before dropping off the C-130 plane. At about 5,000 feet, the parachutes deployed.[62] Over 10 cameras were used for the sequence. In addition to cameras on the ground, there were cameras remotely operated inside the plane and another three mounted outside each car. Additional cameras were on a helicopter, where Razatos was stationed watching monitors. Three skydivers used in the shoot wore helmet cameras to help shoot the sequence from multiple angles. Sky divers would either jump out before cars or after them.[61] While all the cars landed on their drop zones, 70% landed perfectly and 30% didn't.[62] For the close-up scenes which show the actors inside their cars, a giant gimbal with a 360-degree range of movement were attached to each of the cars and was filmed against a green screen to reproduce their tumble through the sky.[63] The last part of the scene, which shows the cars hitting the road was shot separately. To get that right, the team set up a pulley system that had cars six to ten feet above the ground. When they were dropped from the cranes, the stuntmen who were sitting in the driver's seats raced their engines at about 35 to 40 miles per hour and slid to the ground at full speed. Those cranes were then later removed from the film with computers.[62][63] Razatos admits that the air drop sequence was "all real" and that it would be "hard to top".[61][62]
The scene featuring Brian jumping off a bus off a cliff was performed by a stuntman and was all done without any computer graphics.[64] The shooting for this particular sequence along with the scene in which Dom and his team are pursuing to rescue Ramsey almost didn't happen due to the absence of tax break in Colorado.[64] The studio originally wanted to shoot the sequence in Georgia which provides tax breaks for film productions, and then they'd add woods in the background later in post production to which Razatos denied saying, "the audience is going to know [it's CGI] and aren't going to feel good about it."[64] Shooting finally took place in Colorado.[64]
A total of 340 cars were used in the film,[63] and more than 230 cars were destroyed in the making of the film, including several black Mercedes-Benzes, a Ford Crown Victoria, and a Mitsubishi Montero.[65] The film featured the most expensive car destroyed in the franchise so far: a Lykan HyperSport by W Motors, valued at $3.4 million.[66] The mountain-highway chase scene on Colorado's Monarch Pass proved to be the most damaging sequence with over 40 vehicles being destroyed.[65][67] only 10 percent of the action sequences in the film were computer-generated, and even then, much of the CGI was employed simply to erase the wires and other contraptions that were used to film real cars and drivers or to add a background.[63] It took more than 3,500 man-days to complete the various stunts of the film.[63] For safety reasons, stunt coordinator, Joel Kramer said that he doesn't let his drivers go above 50 miles per hour.[68]
Redevelopment of Walker's character
In January 2014, Time reported that Walker's character, Brian O'Conner, would be retired instead of killed, and that new scenes would be developed in order to allow the franchise to continue without him.[70] To recreate Walker's likeness, the filmmakers hired Peter Jackson's Weta Digital visual effects house (which had previously produced the imagery of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings franchise and Caesar in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes).[71] Initially, what Weta could do was severely constrained by the quality of the reference materials available for Walker's physical appearance.[71] In April 2014, it was reported that Walker's brothers Caleb and Cody had been hired as stand-ins.[72] Their cooperation, along with their strong resemblance to their late brother, enabled the filmmakers to use Walker's likeness throughout the finished film.[71] That is, Weta Digital no longer needed to recreate Walker's entire body from scratch, and could focus on accurately modeling his face.[71] The final film showed Walker's face superimposed over the bodies of his brothers or actor John Brotherton in 350 visual effects shots.[71] 260 used a computer-generated face, while 90 repurposed actual footage of Walker's face borrowed from outtakes or older footage.[71]
Music
The musical score was composed by Brian Tyler, who scored the third, fourth, and fifth installments of the series.[73] "There's an emotional component to Fast & Furious 7 that is unique", said Tyler about his experience scoring. "I think people are really going to be amazed by it."[74] A soundtrack album to the film was released by Atlantic Records on March 17, 2015.[75]
Songs featured in the film include:
- "Go Hard or Go Home" (Wiz Khalifa & Iggy Azalea)[76]
- "Ride Out" (Kid Ink, Tyga, Wale, YG & Rich Homie Quan)[77]
- "See You Again" (Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth)
- "My Angel" (Prince Royce)
- "Hamdulillah" (Narcy feat. Shadia Mansour)
- "Get Low" (Dillon Francis and DJ Snake)
- "Ay Vamos" (J Balvin feat. Nicky Jam and French Montana)
- "Tempest" (Deftones)
- "Meneo" (Fito Blanko)
Release
The film, which began principal photography in September 2013, was originally designed as a Summer 2014 release. It was put on hold following the fatal car crash that claimed Paul Walker's life on November 30, 2013. The production resumed in April 2014. In October 2014, Universal revealed that the film was officially titled Furious 7,[78] and that the debut trailer would be released during an interactive fan event over social media. In the days leading up to the event, seven-second, behind-the-scenes videos were released, titled "7 Seconds of 7".[78] on February 1, 2015, a new trailer featuring all-new footage debuted during Super Bowl XLIX.
The film was originally scheduled for release on April 10, 2015, but it was announced that the film's release date had been brought forward a week to April 3, 2015. The official announcement in change of date was made in July 2014.[79] Fast and Furious 7 premiered at the SXSW Film Festival at 12:07 a.m. at Austin's Paramount Theatre on March 16, 2015.[80] on March 27, 2015, a free standalone expansion for the video game Forza Horizon 2, titled Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious, was released to help promote the film.[81] For its global premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on April 1, 2015, IMAX Corporation installed a new laser projection which was the first such installation in the U.S. and the second worldwide, following The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, which opened at Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto in December 2014.[82]
Copyright infringement
According to infringement tracking site Excipio, the film was downloaded illegally 2.59 million times in four days (April 2–6) through various torrent sites with India being the top country for the illegal downloading with 578,000 downloads followed by Pakistan (321,000), China (289,000), the U.S. (251,000) and the UK (101,000).[83] A survey revealed that most Indians tended to resort to copyright violation due to lack of availability, pricing concerns, soaring internet costs and censorship.[84] It was illegally downloaded 44,794,877 times in 2015, making it the most pirated film released that year and the second most pirated film overall, behind Interstellar which saw over 46.7 million illegal downloads the same year.[85]
Home media
Furious 7 was released on 7 September 2015 in the UK and was released via DVD and Blu-ray on September 15, 2015 in other countries. The Blu-ray edition features an all new extended edition, deleted scenes, stunts, behind-the-scenes, and the music video for Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's "See You Again". The Blu-ray and DVD version include behind-the-scene footage of the "Race Wars" scene including rapper Iggy Azalea and making of the cars featured in the film.[86] In the U.S. and Canada, it sold roughly 2.5 million units on Blu-ray and DVD in its first week of release, making it the highest-selling home entertainment live-action film of 2015.[87] This record was later surpassed by Jurassic World the following month,[88] which in turn was surpassed by Star Wars: The Force Awakens by the end of the year.
Reception
Box office
Furious 7 made $353 million in the United States and Canada and $1.16 billion in other countries, for a worldwide total of $1.515 billion, against its $190 million production budget.[3] Worldwide, it is the sixth highest-grossing film of all time,[89] the third highest-grossing film of 2015,[90] the highest-grossing film in The Fast and the Furious franchise and the second highest-grossing Universal Pictures film.[91] It was also the fastest film to reach the $1 billion mark at the time, doing so in 17 days;[92][93][94] It is also the 20th film to gross over $1 billion. It also became the first film to pass 1 million in 4DX admissions worldwide.[95] Deadline.com calculated the net profit of the film to be $354.03 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film.[96]
Worldwide, Furious 7 was released across 810 IMAX theaters, which was the largest worldwide rollout in IMAX's history,[97][98] Its worldwide opening of $397.6 million was the fifth-highest opening of all time.[99] The film had an IMAX opening weekend total of $20.8 million.[100] Furious 7 also became the first film distributed by Universal Pictures to earn more than $1 billion in its original run.
North America
Predictions for the opening weekend of Furious 7 in the United States and Canada were continuously revised upwards, starting from $115 million to $150 million.[101][102] It opened on Friday, April 3, 2015, across 4,004 theaters, including 365 IMAX theaters, which made it the widest opening for a Fast and Furious film and Universal's widest opening release ever (until first surpassed by Jurassic World).[103][104][105] and earned $67.3 million, marking the tenth-biggest opening day.[106][107] The film's Friday gross included a $15.8 million late-night run (which began at 7 p.m.), from 3,069 theaters, marking Universal's highest late-night run, of which $2.2 million came from IMAX showings, marking the third largest IMAX preview gross ever.[108][109] Based on pure Friday gross (with the omission of revenues from Thursday shows), it earned $51.5 million, marking the fifth-biggest of all time.[110][111] Through Sunday, April 5, it had an opening weekend total of $147.1 million, breaking the record for the biggest April opening,[112] the biggest opening in the Fast & Furious franchise, the biggest Easter opening (the record was broken a year later by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's opening gross of $166 million),[113] the third-biggest opening of 2015, the third biggest pre-summer opening ever,[114] and the thirteenth-biggest opening of all time.[115] It earned an IMAX opening weekend total of $13.3 million, marking the second-biggest of all time for a 2D movie.[116][117] Premium large format comprised 8% ($11.5 million) of the total opening gross from 400 PLF screens, which is the biggest 2D PLF opening.[118] It was Universal's fastest film to reach the $200 million mark at the time, doing so in eight days.[119][120]
In its second weekend, the film expanded to 4,022 theaters, thereby breaking its own record of being the widest Universal Pictures release ever, and earned an estimated $59.6 million, declining by 60%, which is the third best second weekend holdover for a pre-summer film release.[121][122] It became the highest-grossing film in the Fast & Furious franchise, doing so only in ten days (the previous record which was held by Fast & Furious 6 took fifteen weeks to reach its entire lifetime gross of $238.67 million).[121][123] It also set the record for the biggest second-weekend April gross.[124] It topped the box office for four consecutive weekends,[125] becoming the first film to top the box office for four consecutive weekends since The Hunger Games in March 2012 and one of only 29 films since 1985 to have had four straight box office wins during their theatrical runs, although this highly depends on many factors, including the release time and the competition around.[126][127] It ended its theatrical run on July 24, 2015, playing in theaters for a total of 112 days[3] and became the thirty-first highest-grossing film of all time,[128] the fifth highest-grossing film of 2015,[129] the highest-grossing film in The Fast and the Furious franchise,[130] the second highest-grossing Universal film of 2015 (behind Jurassic World),[131] and the fifth highest-grossing film distributed by Universal.[131]
Outside North America
Outside the US and Canada, the film became the third highest-grossing film,[132] the highest-grossing Universal distributed film,[132] and the highest-grossing 2015 film.[133] on April 26, 2015, it became the third film in cinematic history to earn over $1 billion overseas.[134] It opened on Wednesday, April 1, 2015, in 12 countries, earning $16.9 million (including previews from 22 countries).[135] It opened in 33 more countries on Thursday, April 2, for a total of 45 countries, earning $43 million from 8,407 screens, marking Universal Pictures overseas' highest-grossing Thursday ever, and for a two-day total of $60 million.[136] It added 20 more countries on Friday, April 3, earning $59.2 million from 9,935 screens in 63 countries, for a three-day total of $120.6 million.[137][138] The film set all-time opening-day records in 15 countries including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, India, Indonesia, the Middle East and Thailand,[136][139][140][141][142] and opening day records for Universal Pictures in 40 countries including Australia, Brazil, Germany, Italy and Mexico.[137] Through Sunday, April 5, it earned a 4-day opening weekend total of $250.4 million from 10,683 screens in 64 countries, which is the fourth-highest international opening ever, in all which it reached first place at the box office[100][116][143][144] It earned an IMAX opening weekend total of $7.5 million from 175 IMAX screens, breaking the record for the biggest April IMAX gross, previously held by The Winter Soldier ($6.43 million).[100] It set opening weekend records in 29 countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Malaysia, Mexico, Middle East, Romania, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam.[100][143] In its second weekend, it held the top spot and fell gradually by 20.4% to $198.7 million (including China's opening day gross) from 18,374 screens in 66 territories as a result of minor competition, and remaining at number one in all 63 territories where it was released the previous week. It added three new countries in its second weekend; China, Russia and Poland.[145] Earning $167.9 million in its third weekend, it topped the box office outside of North America for three consecutive weekends,[146] until surpassed by Avengers: Age of Ultron in its fourth weekend.[147]
The film was a massive box office hit in China. It opened there on April 12 and set an all-time midnight run record with $8.05 million[145][148] and an opening day record with $68.8 million.[145][149] Its opening day included a record breaking $5 million from IMAX run (also breaking Transformers 4's former record of $3.4 million).[145] Through its opening week (April 12–19), it earned $245.9 million.[146][150] For the weekend alone, it took in $88.7 million from 5,454 screens (Friday to Sunday) and $182.4 million (Monday to Sunday) at the Chinese box office. It grossed CN¥1 billion in five days—the fastest time in which that has been achieved—and soon became the highest-grossing foreign film ever in China.[146][150][151] In 15 days, its gross in China surpassed those in Canada and the United States[152] and became the first film in China to make more than 2 billion renminbi.[153] Its success has been credited to China Film Group Corporation, the state-owned film distributor, which had invested considerably in the film, reportedly taking a 10% stake.[154]
The largest openings outside North America and China occurred in Mexico ($21.5 million), the UK, Ireland and Malta ($18.7 million), Germany ($15.9 million), Russia and the CIS ($15.9 million), Brazil ($11.4 million), France ($11.4 million), Australia ($11.3 million), Taiwan ($10.3 million), Argentina ($9.3 millon), Korea ($8.9 million), India ($8.7 million), Italy ($8.2 million), Malaysia ($7.3 million), Spain ($6.3 million), Venezuela ($6 million), Thailand ($6 million), and Colombia ($5.2 million).[143][145] In the UAE, where parts of the film was shot, it opened with $4.8 million.[143] Out of the 68 countries it was released in, the only country not to open at number one was Japan (locally released with the title, Wild Speed: Skymission) where it earned $6.2 million in its opening weekend, behind Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' ($7.6 million).[146] and Detective Conan: Sunflowers of Inferno ($7.4 million).[155] It became the highest-grossing film of all time in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, the UAE, Uruguay, Trinidad and Vietnam and Universal Pictures' highest-grossing film of all time in 29 countries including Argentina, China, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, Turkey, UAE and Vietnam.[146] In Latin America, it became the second highest-grossing film ($200 million), the first time Universal has reached the milestone and the second film in history to earn more than $200 million after The Avengers.[156] In total earnings, the largest countries outside the U.S. and Canada are China ($391.2 million), the UK, Ireland and Malta ($60 million), Mexico ($50.9 million), Brazil, ($46.5 million) and Germany ($40.3 million).[157][158][159] It grossed a total of $39 million in IMAX ticket sales in China, the biggest ever in the market.[160]
Critical response
Furious 7 received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising the film's action sequences and its poignant tribute to Walker. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 80% approval rating, based on 235 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's consensus reads, "Serving up a fresh round of over-the-top thrills while adding unexpected dramatic heft, Furious 7 keeps the franchise moving in more ways than one."[161] on Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 67 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[162] In CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave Furious 7 an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[163]
The film received highly positive reviews upon release at a secret screening at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival on March 16, 2015. Ramin Setoodeh of Variety noted that fans started lining up outside four hours before the film was scheduled to start. The film closed with a tribute to Walker, which left many in the theater "holding back tears".[164] Critic Dave Palmer gave the film 7/10, saying, "Furious 7 is the type of movie Michael Bay has spent his entire career trying to make: filled with shots of scantily clad women, fast cars, and clever one liners".[165]
A.O. Scott of The New York Times gave the film two and a half stars out of five and said, "Furious 7 extends its predecessors’ inclusive, stereotype-resistant ethic. Compared to almost any other large-scale, big-studio enterprise, the Furious brand practices a slick, no-big-deal multiculturalism, and nods to both feminism and domestic traditionalism."[166]
John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter criticized the film however, describing it as "stupidly diverting", saying the running time was "overinflated"; he compared watching the film to a morbid game, in addition to criticizing the screenplay.[167]
Accolades
| Year | Award / Film Festival | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie: Action | Won | [168] | |
| Choice Movie Actor: Action | Vin Diesel | Nominated | |||
| Paul Walker | Won | ||||
| Choice Movie Actress: Action | Michelle Rodriguez | Nominated | |||
| Jordana Brewster | Nominated | ||||
| Choice Movie: Villain | Jason Statham | Nominated | |||
| Choice Movie: Chemistry | Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Dwayne Johnson, Ludacris | Nominated | |||
| Choice Music: Song from a Movie or TV Show | "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth | Won | |||
| 2016 | People's Choice Awards | Favorite Movie | Won | [169] | |
| Favorite Action Movie | Won | ||||
| Favorite Action Movie Actor | Vin Diesel | Nominated | |||
| Favorite Action Movie Actress | Michelle Rodriguez | Nominated | |||
| Critics' Choice Awards | Best Original Song | "See You Again" | Won | [170] | |
| Best Action Movie | Nominated | ||||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Original Song | "See You Again" | Nominated | [171] | |
| Houston Film Critics Society | Best Original Song | "See You Again" | Nominated | [172] | |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture | Nominated | [173][174] | ||
| Las Vegas Film Critics Society | Best Original Song | "See You Again" | Won | [175] | |
| MTV Movie Awards | Best Action Performance | Vin Diesel | Nominated | [176] | |
| Ensemble Cast | Nominated | ||||
| Satellite Awards | Best Original Song | "See You Again" | Nominated | [177] | |
| Saturn Award | Best Action or Adventure Film | Won | [178] | ||
| Best Editing | Christian Wagner, Dylan Highsmith, Kirk Morri, and Leigh Folsom Boyd | Nominated | |||
| Best DVD or Blu-ray Special Edition Release | Furious 7 (Extended Edition) | Nominated | |||
| St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association | Best Original Song | "See You Again" | Runner-up | [179] | |
| Visual Effects Society | Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature | Mike Wassel, Karen Murphy, Martin Hill, Kevin McIlwain, Dan Sudick | Nominated | [180] |
Sequel
Regarding a possible sequel, Vin Diesel said:
I was trying to keep it close to the vest throughout the release. Paul Walker used to say that [an eighth film] was guaranteed. And in some ways, when your brother guarantees something, you sometimes feel like you have to make sure it comes to pass... so if fate has it, then you’ll get this when you hear about it. [Furious 7] was for Paul, [the eighth film] is from Paul.[181]
Diesel further hinted at an eighth film on Jimmy Kimmel Live! when he stated that Kurt Russell's character would span multiple films. He also stated that the film would take place in New York City.[182] Chris Morgan wrote his sixth script in the franchise, while Neal H. Moritz returned to produce. Moritz later stated, "[The story] is going to have to be something enticing for all of us... it has to be as good as or better [than Furious 7]".[183]
At the 2015 CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Diesel announced the film for an April 14, 2017 release date.[184][185] on August 16, 2015, at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards (where Furious 7 received the award for Choice Movie – Action and Walker received the award for Choice Movie Actor – Action), Diesel gave the film the initial title Fast 8.[186] In September 2015, Diesel stated that the script had almost been completed,[187] and expressed interest in Rob Cohen, who directed the first film, to direct the eighth installment.[188] on October 14, 2015, Diesel announced on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray would direct the film.[189][190]
In July 2015, Moritz said that Walker's character, Brian O'Conner, would not appear in the film, following the use of CGI in the previous film after Walker died in a single-vehicle accident on November 30, 2013, with Moritz stating that his character had "moved on".[191] It had previously been reported that Paul's younger brother, Cody Walker, would either join the cast in a new role,[192] or replace his older brother in the role of O'Conner;[193] however, it was later announced that the character will not return to the franchise.[194] Moritz also said that the film would shift the focus of the franchise from a series of heist films to a spy caper, following a similar change in focus from street racing in Fast Five (2011).[195] In December 2016, the film was retitled The Fate of the Furious.[196]
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