‘Fast X’ drops ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ to dust at domestic box office

x fast, the 10th installment in the long-running (and increasingly ridiculous) action franchise, is aiming for a No. 1 spot in its first weekend at the domestic box office. Directed by Louis Leterrier, x fast grossed $28 million on its first day of release, including $7.5 million from Thursday previews. That puts it on track to gross around $67 million in its opening weekend, which will be slightly lower than F9: the fast sagadebuted a few years ago.

The ninth episode was released at a scarier time during the pandemic and made nearly $30 million on opening day and $70 million in its first weekend. It doesn’t reflect too well x fast, which is coming to theaters following a major marketing campaign and has a franchise budget of $340 million to recoup. Of course, the behind-the-scenes stories that have emerged from this series are often more dramatic than some of the soap opera twists in the actual films. While the jury has yet to determine whether the stars wine Diesel And Dwayne Johnson buried the hatchet on a quarrel that started on the sets of The fate of the furiousTHE x fast the production had its own problems when the director Justin Lin dropped out a week into filming.

Leterrier, the French filmmaker behind the Transporter films, The Incredible HulkAnd Clash of the Titans, was quickly hired to replace him. The film he shot was not as warmly received as some of the previous entries in the franchise. x fast currently sits at a “rotten” score of 54% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and it earned a so-so B+ CinemaScore from opening day audiences, which is in line with F9critical reception. The collider’s own Ross Bonaime praised the film’s over-the-top tone and franchise newcomer Jason Momoain his review.

RELATED: Every ‘Fast and Furious’ Movie, Ranked

Slipping to second place after two weekends at number one, Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 added $8.3 million on the third Friday, bringing its running national total to $243 million. Globally, the film has grossed over $550 million, but is still a long way from hitting the premiere. guardians of the galaxythe $333 million domestic transportation and $770 million worldwide, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2$389 million domestic and $863 million worldwide gross. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 opened relatively low for a major Marvel movie, but rebounded in its second weekend with one of the best takes in franchise history.

Four trailed restraints “Quick X”

Number three went to Universal The movie Super Mario Bros., which will end this weekend — its seventh — within touching distance of the $550 million mark domestically. The animated mega-hit is expected to add $9.5 million this weekend after a $2.2 million Friday. Book Club: The Next Chapter took fourth place adding $900,000 on the second Friday, for a running domestic haul of $11 million. As it stands, this could be the final chapter in the unlikely comedy-drama series, starring Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen And Marie Steenburgen. The movie has grossed less than $15 million worldwide so far, which pales in comparison to the first. Reading Clubworldwide transport of more than 100 million dollars. Fifth place this weekend went to the horror hit Evil Dead Riseincluding $685,000 on Friday, for a national running total of $62 million.

x fast was expected to generate $280 million worldwide in its opening weekend, as it plays in 65 international territories, including China. But he’s now eyeing a $320 million finish, which should bring some much-needed relief to Universal. You can watch our interview with star Michelle Rodriguez here, and stay tuned to Collider for more box office updates over the weekend.