Furious 7 maintains pole position

NEW YORK (AP):

The high-octane thriller Furious 7 maintained speed in its second week, racing away with us$60.6 million at North American cinemas and bringing its box-office total to a robust US$252.5 million, according to studio estimates yesterday.

Universal's Furious 7 more than lapped the competition. The only new wide release of the weekend, the rodeo romance The Longest Ride, opened with US$13.5 million.

That was good enough to take third place for the Fox release, which stars Clint Eastwood's son, Scott Eastwood. In second was the DreamWorks animated alien adventure Home, which pulled in US$19 million in its third week of release.

Still, Furious 7 continued to dominate the marketplace, dropping only 59 per cent from its remarkable US$147.2 million debut last weekend. Globally, it has already crossed US$800 million in its first two weeks of release, according to Universal.

The weekend international total - an eye-popping $195 million - was boosted by the film premiering in China yesterday, where it earned an estimated US$68.6 million in just one day.

Over 10 days, Furious 7, which prominently features a tribute to the late actor Paul Walker, has already pulled in more than all previous instalments of the 14 year-old franchise.

Historical achievement

At its current pace, Furious 7 is likely to become the highest-grossing film in Universal's history. The studio's Jurassic Park, from 1993, holds Universal's mark with US$1.02 billion worldwide.

It's a summer blockbuster-sized result for Furious 7, but by opening in April, it has little competition in its way.

On a much smaller scale, the critically acclaimed sci-fi film Ex Machina drew the year's largest cinema average of US$62,489 in four locations.

Following are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian cinemas, according to office tracker Rentrak. Where available, the latest international numbers are also included.

1. Furious 7, US$60.6m (US$195m international).

2. Home, US$19m (US$15.2m international).

3. The Longest Ride, US$13.5m (US$3m)

4. Get Hard, US$8.6m (US$1.4m).

5. Cinderella, US$7.2m (US$12.6m).

6. The Divergent Series: Insurgent, US$6.9m (US$7.9m).

7. Woman in Gold, US$5.9m

8. It Follows, US$2m

9. Danny Collins, US$1.6m

10. While We're Young, US$1.4m.

Following are estimated ticket sales for Friday through yesterday at international cinemas (excluding the US and Canada), according to Rentrak:

1. Furious 7, US$195m

2. Wolf Warriors, US$18m

3. Home, $15.2 million

4. Cinderella, US$12.6m

5. Kingsman: The Secret Service, US$9m

6. Let's Get Married, US$8.5m

7. The Divergent Series: Insurgent, US$7.9m

8. Pourquoi j'ai (pas) MangÈ Mon PÈre, US$3.5m

9. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, US$3.2m

10. The Longest Ride, US$3m.