'The Fate Of The Furious' Could Make $280 Million Worldwide This Weekend

The Fate of the Furious is a disappointing setback for the series, but as you all probably know, it's still on its way to another massive opening weekend at the box-office. While box-office analysts don't see it surpassing Furious 7's opening in the United States, director F. Gary Gray's sequel is expected to land somewhere between $110 million to $125 million. The sequel may double that number worldwide, although some speculate it'll make even more than $280 million this weekend.

Let's delve into the Fate of the Furious box-office tracking.

This sequel may make more in its opening weekend worldwide than The Fast of the Furious made in its entire theatrical run back in 2001. As the series has grown larger, so has its box-office stats. According to the Los Angeles TimesThe Fate of the Furious is estimated to make $280 or $300 million worldwide this weekend. Some analysts believe it might even break $400 million, which would put it past Furious 7's global opening of $392 million.

Furious 7 made $1.5 billion when it was all said and done. Unlike James Wan's entry, F. Gary Gray's is opening in China its opening weekend, which is where the previous installment picked up $390 million. There was also a lot of love and support behind the last sequel, which arrived after the sudden and tragic death of actor Paul Walker. Furious 7, unlike The Fate of the Furious, is more than just another sequel to this franchise. It has a touching and respectful sendoff – and was just a good time at the movies – so audiences turned up for the movie, making it the franchise's most successful film.The Fate of the Furious may not strike as strong of a chord, but it doesn't have to. The film, which is estimated to cost $250 million, is on track to have this year's second highest-grossing debut, following Beauty & the Beast. Once this weekend is over, Gray's movie will have added a good deal of money to the franchise's global take of $3.9 billion.

Audiences will likely eat Gray's film up over the coming days, even if the franchise's magic isn't quite there in this entry. The Fate of the Furious makes a serious mistake from the get-go by splitting Dom (Vin Diesel) from his crew, for reasons that aren't very satisfying. The character, whether he's on his own or when he's with Charlize Theron, who's stuck in a thin role, isn't the same without the team. In the end, it's clear Dom needs his crew more than they need him.

Dom and Cipher's storyline is never as entertaining as when Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and the team are together, even if all they're doing is sitting around, trying to figure out what to do next – of which there is a surprising amount of in The Fate of the Furious. The movie doesn't have much momentum and isn't as fun as it should be, but it does have some good mayhem and some great Tyrese Gibson moments.

It's still going to make a bajillion dollars.