In the strongest sign yet that life is left in movie theaters, «F9» sped to a box office take of $70 million in its first weekend, the biggest opening for a film since the pandemic began, according to studio estimates Sunday.<\/b>
\nLOS ANGELES \u2014 In the strongest sign yet that life is left in movie theaters, \u201cF9\u201d sped to a box office take of $70 million in its first weekend, the biggest opening for a film since the pandemic began, according to studio estimates Sunday. The ninth installment in the \u201cFast & Furious\u201d franchise, starring franchise regulars Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez, opened only in theaters and had the widest release of any movie since the start of the coronavirus crisis. The domestic total for Universal Pictures\u2019 \u201cF9\u201d topped the previous pandemic-best of $48.4 million for \u201cA Quiet Place Part II \u201d four weeks ago. It was the biggest opening of any film since \u201cStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker\u201d in December 2019. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t be more gratified to see that the audience embraced the \u2018Fast\u2019 family and came out to see \u2018F9\u2019 in tremendous numbers,\u201d said Jim Orr, head of distribution for Universal. \u201cThe debut this weekend has really ignited the domestic box office and set it on a tremendous path for the rest of the year.\u201d \u201cA Quiet Place Part II\u201d came in a very distant second with $6.2 million. But it has now earned $136.4 million since its release. \u201cThe Hitman\u2019s Wife\u2019s Bodyguard\u201d brought in $4.8 million in the third spot. \u201cF9\u201d debuted internationally on May 19, and has now grossed more than $400 million globally.<\/p>\n