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 |
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Release dates |
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Running time |
137 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $190 million[3][4][5] |
| Box office | $1.349 billion[6] |
Furious 7 (stylized onscreen as Furious Seven and alternatively known as Fast & Furious 7)[7] 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, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, 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 amnesties in Fast & Furious 6 for their past crimes, until Deckard Shaw (Statham), a rogue special forces assassin seeking to avenge his comatose younger brother, puts them in danger once again.
With the previous three installments being set between 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Furious 7 is the first film 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 accident on November 30, 2013, with filming only half-completed. After 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.
Furious 7 was released first in Australia on April 2, 2015, and then in the United States on April 3, 2015, and was released in 3D internationally, a first for the series. 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 made $392.2 million worldwide in its first three days of release, which is the fourth-highest opening of all time. The film has grossed over $1.349 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film in the franchise after just twelve days, the current highest-grossing film of 2015 and the fourth highest-grossing film of all time.
A sequel is scheduled to be released on April 14, 2017.
Contents
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Plot[edit]
After breaking into the secure hospital where a comatose Owen Shaw is being held, older brother Deckard Shaw swears vengeance against "the team that crippled [his] brother". He tells the hospital staff that he will hold them responsible if anything happens to Owen, leaving after severely damaging the hospital. Meanwhile, Dominic "Dom" Toretto, Brian O'Conner, and their crew, pardoned by Luke Hobbs, try to live normal lives in the United States; Dom attempts to help Letty Ortiz regain her memories, while Brian tries accustoming to life as a father with Mia.
Shaw breaks into Hobbs's DSS office for info on Dom’s crew, but is caught by Hobbs; Shaw seriously injures Hobbs with a bomb and escapes. Dom learns his sister Mia is pregnant again; he convinces her to tell Brian about it. They are interrupted by a phone call: Deckard Shaw, calling immediately after having killed Han, formerly of their crew, in Tokyo. This tips off Dom that the package on his doorstep is, in fact a disguised bomb; it explodes, destroying the Toretto house. Dom later visits Hobbs in hospital, learning Shaw is a rogue special forces assassin seeking to avenge his brother. Dom then travels to Tokyo to claim Han's body. There, he meets and races Sean Boswell, a friend of Han's, who gives Dom personal items found at Han’s crash site, including a cross necklace that Dom had previously given Letty. At Han's funeral, Dom notices Shaw driving by the service; chasing after him, the two collide head-on in their vehicles. Shaw slips away when a covert ops team, led by “Mr. Nobody” and Sheppard, arrive. “Nobody” tells Dom he will help him stop Shaw if Dom helps stop terrorist Mose Jakande from obtaining God's Eye, a computer program that can hack into any device connected to any network. Dom recruits Brian, Letty, Roman Pearce, and Tej Parker to help. Mia makes Brian promise that, after this mission, he will dedicate himself to their family full-time.
The crew airdrop their cars over Jakande's convoy, ambush it, and rescue Ramsey, creator of God's Eye, then head to Abu Dhabi, successfully acquiring the God’s Eye flash drive; on both occasions, the team is pursued by Shaw, targeting Dom. God's Eye soon tracks down Shaw; Dom, Brian, “Nobody”, and his men attempt to capture him, but are ambushed by Jakande’s militants, called in by Shaw. The militants kill the men with “Nobody”, including Sheppard, and “Nobody” is seriously injured, though he manages to escape with Dom and Brian. Jakande obtains God's Eye from Sheppard's corpse. on their way out of the country, “Nobody” warns Dom and Brian that Jakande will use God's Eye against them, and, leaving "Mr. Nobody" behind at his own request to be evacuated by helicopter, they drive off.
All return to Los Angeles to fight on home turf; Dom plans to confront Shaw alone; Brian and the rest of the crew prepare to deal with Jakande and God's Eye. When Brian calls Mia, she finally reveals to him that she is pregnant with their second child, a girl. As Jakande pursues the crew via helicopter and drone, Ramsey hacks into God's Eye with the team’s help, shutting it down. Hobbs, seeing the team in trouble, breaks out of hospital and destroys the drone by ramming it with an ambulance. Meanwhile, Dom and Shaw fight on a parking garage, before Jakande fires at Dom; Shaw is apprehended when the garage partly collapses on him. Dom then drives at Jakande, tossing a bag of grenades onto his chopper, but is injured when his car crashes. Jakande nearly flees before Hobbs manages to shoot the bag of grenades, destroying Jakande's helicopter. As Letty cradles Dom's unconscious body in her arms, she reveals that she has regained her memories. Dom regains consciousness soon after, remarking, "It's about time". Hobbs takes Shaw into custody, and locks him away in a secure CIA prison.
On a beach, Brian and Mia play with their son, while Dom and the rest of their crew appreciate his happiness and acknowledge that he is best off retired with his family. Dom silently leaves, but Brian catches up with him at a stop sign. As Dom remembers the times he had with Brian, they say farewell, driving off in separate directions.
Cast[edit]
- 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. He is married to Dom's sister, Mia, with whom he has a son, Jack.
- Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs, a Diplomatic Security Service agent who allied with Dom and his crew after their outings in Europe and Rio de Janeiro. It is later revealed that he is also a father, to a young girl. Johnson initially said that if Universal pursued the accelerated development of a seventh film with a summer start date, he would be unable to participate due to scheduling conflicts with filming on Hercules.[8] However, as production for the film commenced in September, he confirmed his return for the film, as Hercules completed production in time for him to film a significant part.[9]
- Michelle Rodriguez as Leticia "Letty" Ortiz-Toretto, Dom's wife and a professional street racer, who was revealed to have suffered from amnesia after being presumed dead.
- Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto-O'Conner, Dom's younger sister and a former member of his crew. She is married to Brian, with whom she has a son, Jack.
- Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce, a member of Dom's crew and a childhood friend of Brian.
- Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Tej Parker, a mechanic and technician, and a friend of Brian and Roman's from Miami.
- 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 a mercenary from obtaining a computer program called 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 crew in Spain.
- Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey, a British computer hacker and the creator of God's Eye, who allies with Dom and crew after being saved from a mercenary and helps them to regain control of her program.
- Djimon Hounsou as Mose Jakande, a mercenary who allies with Shaw and uses God's Eye to track its creator and use her to track down his enemies.
- Tony Jaa as Kiet, a member of Jakande's crew 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.[10][11]
- 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 Jason 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.[12]
- Lucas Black as Sean Boswell, a professional street racer and drifter based in Tokyo, who meets Dom when he travels to Tokyo to claim the body of Han Seoul-Oh, 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.[13][14]
- Elsa Pataky as Elena Neves, a Diplomatic Security Service agent and former Rio police officer, who moved to the United States to become Hobbs' new partner at the DSS.
- Ali Fazal as Zafar, a friend of Ramsey to whom she sent God's Eye for safekeeping. It is Fazal's first appearance in an American film. He described his role as a cameo, saying that he appeared only in three scenes.[15]
- John Brotherton as Sheppard, the right-hand man of Mr. Nobody. Brotherton was also used as an acting double for Paul Walker following Walker's death.[16][17][18]
Additionally, Noel Gugliemi reprises his role from the first film as Hector, a street race organizer. Luke Evans briefly reprises his role from the previous film as Owen Shaw, the comatose younger brother of the film's primary antagonist.[19] Sung Kang, Bow Wow and Nathalie Kelley appear in archive footage from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift as Han Seoul-Oh, Twinkie and Neela, respectively. Gal Gadot appears as Gisele Yashar in a photograph and in archive footage from both Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6. Tego Calderón and Don Omar appear as Leo and Santos, respectively, in archive footage from Fast Five. Rapper Iggy Azalea makes a cameo appearance in the film and contributed to the soundtrack.[20] Bachata singer Romeo Santos also makes a cameo appearance.[21]
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
On October 21, 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported that Universal was considering filming two sequels—Fast Six and Fast Seven—back to back with a single story running through both films; both written by Chris Morgan and directed by Justin Lin, the franchise's writer and director, respectively, since The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006).[22] on December 20, 2011, Diesel stated that Fast Six would be split into two parts, with writing for the two films occurring simultaneously. on the decision, Diesel said:[23]
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!'[23]
However, in an interview on February 15, 2012, actor 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.[24]
In April the following year, during completion of post-production on the retitled Fast & Furious 6, director Justin 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.[25] However, subsequent interviews with Lin have suggested that the sixth installment was always intended to be the final entry directed by him.[26]
In April 2013, 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 Chris Morgan returning to write the script, his fifth in the series. on April 16, 2013, Vin Diesel announced that the sequel would be released on July 11, 2014.[27] In May 2013, Diesel said that the sequel would feature Los Angeles, Tokyo and the Middle East as locations.[28][29]
Filming[edit]
Principal photography began in early September 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia, with a casting call issued.[30][31] Abu Dhabi was also a filming location,[32] as the production crew chose it over Dubai; they benefitted from the Emirate's 30% rebate scheme.[33] Pikes Peak Highway in Colorado was closed in September to film some driving sequences.[34]
On September 16, the production filmed with Paul Walker and the Kimsey twins, playing his son Jack,[35] in front of an Atlanta elementary school.[36] on the 18th, Han's funeral scene was filmed at Oakland Cemetery,[37] with extras needed for the scene being "hot, hip and trendy cool types of all ethnicities between the ages of 18 and 45".[38] on the evening of the 19th, Lucas Black joined the production[39] for his sole scene with Vin Diesel, in an Atlanta parking garage; separate scenes with Paul Walker also shot in the same location on the same night,[40] 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 public Facebook page.[41]
On October 24, over a month into the film's production, Dwayne Johnson tweeted he had started shooting for the film after wrapping up on Hercules.[42] Five days later, Vin Diesel posted the first photo of Johnson on the set, in the hospital scene.[43]
On November 30, 2013, while on a break for the Thanksgiving holiday, Walker, who portrayed Brian O'Conner, died in a single-vehicle accident.[44][45] The next day, Universal announced that production would continue after a delay that would allow the filmmakers to rework the film.[46] on December 4, 2013, Universal Pictures put production on hold indefinitely.[47] Wan later confirmed that the film had not been cancelled.[48][49][50] on December 22, 2013, Diesel posted on his Facebook page that the film would be released on April 10, 2015.[51] 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.[52] Principal photography ended on July 10, 2014.[7]
Stunts[edit]
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.[56][57] 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 fullfill audience's expectations.[56] 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[56] and did this six times.[57] 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.[57] There were two airplanes, flying at a height of 12,000 feet, each dropping two cars apiece.[56] 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.[57] 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.[56] While all the cars landed on their drop zones, 70% landed perfectly and 30% didn't.[57] For the close-up scenes which shows 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.[58] 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 pully 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.[57][58] Razatos admits that the air drop sequence was "all real" and that it would be "hard to top."[56][57]
The scene featuring Brian jumping off a bus off a cliff was performed by a stuntman and was all done without any computer graphics.[59] 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.[59] 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."[59] Shooting finally took place in Colorado.[59]
A total of 340 cars were used in the film,[58] and more than 230 cars were destroyed in the making of the film including several black Mercedes-Benz, a Ford Crown Victoria and a Mitsubishi Montero.[60] The mountain-highway chase scene on Colorado's Monarch Pass proved to be the most damaging sequence with over 40 vehicles being destroyed.[60][61] 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.[58] It took more than 3,500 man-days to complete the various stunts of the film.[58] For safety reasons, stunt coordinator, Joel Kramer said that he doesn't let his drivers go above 50 miles per hour.[62]
Redevelopment of Walker's character[edit]
"When I first heard the news, I was shell-shocked like everyone, and it took me days to come to terms with it. And then after that, heartbreaks started sinking in and we realised that Paul [Walker] wasn’t going to be around with us anymore moving forward, and it was a really hard one. And finishing the movie was the last thing on my mind at that point. It was more the idea of... picking up the pieces, going back on set, rallying the team, the cast, and the crew, and as the director, having to put on the brave face and champion and push everyone along. The idea of that was very daunting for me, but it became very apparent to all of us that we needed to finish this movie to honour Paul’s legacy and to basically honour his memories... it was about making this movie for Paul."
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.[64] In March 2014, the Daily News reported that the studio had hired four actors with bodies similar to Walker's physique, and that his face and voice would be computer-generated,[65] and in April 2014, Walker's brothers Caleb and Cody, both of whom closely resemble him, were chosen as stand-ins.[66] For scenes which required re-creating Walker's face and body, the team hired Peter Jackson's Weta Digital (which produced the imagery of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings franchise and Caesar in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes). The final film includes a combination of CGI and the use of carefully chosen camera angles and lighting using Walker's brothers to simulate his appearance.[67] Robin Shenfield, CEO of London's special effects studio, The Mill, noted that the redevelopment was similar to that of Oliver Reed's when his character had to be redeveloped the same way as a result of his death during filming of Gladiator.[68]
Music[edit]
The musical score was composed by Brian Tyler, who scored the third, fourth, and fifth installments of the series.[69] "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."[70] A soundtrack album to the film was released by Atlantic Records on March 17, 2015.[71]
Songs featured in the film include:
- "Go Hard or Go Home" (Wiz Khalifa & Iggy Azalea)[72]
- "Ride Out" (Kid Ink, Tyga, Wale, YG & Rich Homie Quan)[73]
- "See You Again" (Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth)
- "My Angel" (Prince Royce)
- "Get Low" (Dillon Francis and DJ Snake)
- "Ay Vamos" (J Balvin feat. Nicky Jam and French Montana)
Release[edit]
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,[74] 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".[74] 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.[75] Fast and Furious 7 premiered at the SXSW Film Festival at 12:07 a.m. at Austin's Paramount Theatre on March 16, 2015.[76] It was release in China on April 12, 2015. 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.[77]
Piracy[edit]
According to piracy 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 piracy of the film with 578,000 downloads followed by Pakistan (321,000), China (289,000), the U.S. (251,000) and the UK (101,000).[78] A survey conducted out revealed that most Indians tended to resort to piracy due to lack of availability, pricing concerns, soaring internet speeds and censorship.[79]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
As of April 28, 2015[update], Furious 7 has grossed $322.7 million in North America and $1.026 billion in other territories for a worldwide total of $1.349 billion, against its $190 million budget.[6] It is the 4th highest-grossing film of all-time,[81] the highest-grossing film of 2015,[82] the highest-grossing film in The Fast and the Furious franchise (achieving the milestone in just twelve days),[83][84] and the twentieth film in cinematic history to cross the $1 billion mark.
Worldwide, Furious 7 was released across 810 IMAX theaters, which is the largest worldwide rollout for any movie in IMAX's history.[85] Its worldwide opening of $392.2 million is the fourth-highest opening of all time.[86] The film had an IMAX opening weekend total of $20.8 million.[87] Furious 7 also became the first film distributed by Universal Pictures to earn more than $1 billion in its original run and the second overall (following Jurassic Park). It reached this milestone in 17 days, breaking the record previously set by The Avengers, Avatar and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (all 19 days).[88]
United States and Canada[edit]
The film became the thirty sixth highest-grossing film,[89] the highest-grossing 2015 film,[90] and the fourth highest-grossing film distributed by Universal.[91] 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.[92][93] It opened on Friday, April 3, 2015, across 4,004 theaters, including 365 IMAX theaters, which made it Universal's widest opening release ever (breaking Despicable Me 2 's record),[94][95][96] and earned $67.3 million, marking the tenth-biggest opening day.[97][98] 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 (breaking Fifty Shades of Grey 's record), of which $2.2 million came from IMAX showings, marking the third largest IMAX preview gross ever, (behind Iron Man 3 and The Dark Knight Rises).[99] Based on pure Friday gross (with the omission of revenues from Thursday shows), it earned $51.5 million, marking the third-biggest of all time, behind The Avengers ($61 million) and Iron Man 3 ($53 million).[100] Through Sunday, April 5, it had an opening weekend total of $147.1 million, breaking the record for the biggest April opening,[101] the biggest opening in the Fast & Furious franchise, the biggest Easter opening,[102] the biggest opening of 2015, the second biggest pre-summer opening ever, behind The Hunger Games ($152 million),[103] and the ninth-biggest opening of all time.[104] It earned an IMAX opening weekend total of $13.3 million, marking the second-biggest of all time for a 2D movie (behind The Dark Knight Rises).[105][106] Premium large format comprised 8% ($11.5 million) of the total opening gross from 400 PLF screens, which is the biggest PLF opening (previously held by The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1).[107] It is Universal's fastest film to reach the $200 million mark, doing so in eight days (a record previously held by Despicable Me 2 with 11 days).[108][109]
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, behind American Sniper ($64.6 million) and Alice in Wonderland ($62.7 million).[110][111] 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).[110][112] It also set the record for the biggest second-weekend April gross (previously held by Captain America: The Winter Soldier with $41.3 million).[113] It topped the box office for four consecutive weekends,[114] becoming the first film to top the box office for four consecutive weekends since The Hunger Games in March 2012.[115]
Other markets[edit]
Outside North America, the film became the third highest-grossing film,[116] the highest-grossing Universal distributed film,[116] and the highest-grossing 2015 film.[117] on April 26, 2015, it became the third film in cinematic history to earn over $1 billion overseas, following James Cameron's Avatar and Titanic.[118] It opened on Wednesday, April 1, 2015, in 12 countries, earning $16.9 million (including previews from 22 countries).[119] 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.[120] 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.[121][122] The film set all-time opening-day records in 15 countries including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, India, Indonesia, the Middle East and Thailand,[120][123][124][125][126] and opening day records for Universal Pictures in 40 countries including Australia, Brazil, Germany, Italy and Mexico.[121] Through Sunday, April 5, it earned a 4-day opening weekend total of $245.05 million from 10,683 screens in 64 countries, which is the third-highest international opening ever, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($314 million) and Pirates of the Caribbean: on Stranger Tides ($260.4 million), in all which it reached first place at the box office[87][105][127][128] 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).[87] It set opening weekend records in 29 countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Malaysia, Mexico, Middle East, Romania, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam.[87][127] 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.[129] Earning $167.9 million in its third weekend, it topped the box office outside of North America for three consecutive weekends,[130] until surpassed by Avengers: Age of Ultron in its fourth weekend.[131]
The film was a massive box office hit in China. It opened on Sunday, April 12, 2015 and set an all-time midnight run record with $8.05 million (breaking Transformers: Age of Extinction 's $3.38–$3.5 million record)[129][132] and an opening day record with $68.8 million.[129][133] Its opening day included a record breaking $5 million from IMAX run (also breaking Transformers 4 's former record of $3.4 million).[129] Through its opening week (April 12–19), it earned $245.9 million.[130][134] 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, which if goes with the former will be the fourth-biggest debut and if for the latter will the biggest debut of all time. It is the fastest film to cross 1 billion in the local currency (yuan) – in five days – and immediately became the second highest-grossing film in China of all time, behind Transformers 4.[130][134][135] In just 15 days, it surpassed Transformers 4 to become the highest-grossing film in China with $323 million,[136] surpassed its North American run[137] and became the first (and only) film in China to make more than 2 billion renminbi.[138]
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), Italy ($8.2 million), Malaysia ($7.3 million), Spain ($6.3 million), Venezuela ($6 million), Thailand ($6 million), and Colombia ($5.2 million).[127][129] In the UAE, where parts of the film was shot, it opened with $4.8 million.[127] Its $11.7 million opening in India is the biggest for a Hollywood title ever (previously held by The Amazing Spider-Man 2).[126] 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).[130] and Case Closed: Sunflowers of Inferno ($7.4 million).[139] It became the highest-grossing film of all time in Indonesia, Malaysia, the UAE 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.[130] In total earnings, the largest countries after the U.S. and Canada are China ($325.8 million), the UK, Ireland and Malta ($46.9 million), Mexico ($45.6 million), Brazil ($32.4 million), and Germany ($32.1 million).[140][141]
Critical response[edit]
The Los Angeles Times reported that reviews for Furious 7 have been "generally positive" with critics praising the film's action sequences and its poignant tribute to Walker.[142] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 82% approval rating, based on 194 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. 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."[143] 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".[144] In CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave Furious 7 an average grade of A on an A+ to F scale.[145]
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".[146] 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".[147]
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.[148]
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.[149]
Sequel[edit]
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."[150]
Diesel further hinted at an eighth film on Jimmy Kimmel Live! when he stated that Kurt Russell's character had been introduced in a role that would span multiple films. He also stated that the possible sequel could take place in New York.[151] Neither a director nor a writer have been finalized for an eighth film. Neal H. 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]."[152] At the 2015 CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Vin Diesel announced the film for an April 14, 2017 release date.[153][154]
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