Vin Diesel and 'Furious' franchise are unstoppable in Vietnam

By An Nguyen   April 14, 2017 | 10:42 pm PT
The new installment of the action series has broken all sneak preview records at the local box office, well on track to dethrone 'Kong.'

Vietnamese fans are not done with Diesel and his "Furious" franchise yet.

“The Fate of the Furious,” the eight outing of the blockbuster series, earned VND20 billion or nearly $900,000 from only two days of sneak previews, ahead of the official launch on Friday.

That was way ahead of the VND14.5 billion record for "Captain America: Civil War" around this time last year.

"Fate" also beat the preview sales of "Furious 7" two years ago by a 31 percent margin.

“Furious 7” in fact opened to a staggering $4.4 million within the first two weeks. It had been the all-time biggest movie in Vietnam, until “Kong: Skull Island” arrived this year. 

The new movie of the franchise just had a very good start, which means it is likely to dethrone King Kong soon. 

"Fate," also starring Jason Statham, Charlize Theron and Michelle Rodriguez, is rated PG-13 in the United States but censors in Vietnam have decided to slap a tougher age restriction to bar those under 16 years old. 

That hardly had any impact on the crowds.

Fans in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City reportedly overwhelmed theaters on Friday, with most shows sold out. The extreme heat wave in the southern megacity may have helped.  

According to Hollywood Reporter, the Universal film is projected to earn at least $110 million in North American and north of $350 million globally this weekend.

Vietnam in recent years has become one of the fastest growing markets for Hollywood films. Major studios and local distributors try to bring almost all summer blockbusters to the country, sometimes days ahead of their official release dates in the U.S. 

 
 
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