‘Furious 8’ leaves competition in the dust

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Actors Tyrese Gibson and Vin Diesel attend the premiere of Universal Pictures’ ‘The Fate Of The Furious’ at Radio City Music Hall on April 8, 2017 in New York City. AFP File Photo

LOS ANGELES: Universal’s “The Fate of the Furious” topped the North American box office for a second weekend, industry data showed, taking $38.4 million as it closed in on $1 billion worldwide.

The eighth installment in the high-octane series starring Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson shattered records on its opening weekend with global revenues of more than $500 million, and that figure has since surged to $908.3 million.

Domestically, the movie is lagging behind “Furious 7,” which took $250 million over its first two weekends, but with strong performances in foreign markets it is still expected to cross the $1 billion worldwide benchmark later this week.

Directed by F. Gary Gray of “Straight Outta Compton” fame, “Furious 8,” also featuring Charlize Theron, Tyrese Gibson and hip-hop star Ludacris, follows Diesel’s Dom Toretto, who is coerced into joining forces with a cyber-terrorist played by Theron.

It was a disappointing week for the five new country-wide releases — “Born in China,” “Unforgettable,” “The Promise,” “Phoenix Forgotten” and “Free Fire” — none of which made it into the top five or managed to cross the $5 million mark.

Second place went to a film in its fourth week — DreamWorks animation “The Boss Baby” which took in $12.7 million, according to industry data tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Fox’s tale of rivalry between infants and puppies — featuring Alec Baldwin as the voice of the tie-wearing chief baby — has earned a total of $137 million.

Disney’s third-placed “Beauty and the Beast,” starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, continued to draw viewers, earning $9.7 million in its sixth week for a total of $471 million domestically and $1.1 billion worldwide.

In fourth, Warner Bros. comedy “Going in Style,” starring Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin and Michael Caine as aging bank robbers, made $4.91 million, swapping places with “Smurfs: The Lost Village,” which took $30,000 less.

The Sony animation has amassed a disappointing $33.4 million total in three weeks following an opening described by the Hollywood Reporter as “one of the worst starts in recent memory for an animated offering from a major Hollywood studio.”

Rounding out the top 10 were:

“Born in China” ($4.790 million)

“Unforgettable” ($4.785 million)

“Gifted” ($4.6 million)

“The Promise” ($4.1 million)

“The Lost City of Z” ($2.1 million)

© AFP