Hobbs and Shaw disappointed at the box office during its opening weekend, but it isn’t a bomb. The first Fast and Furious spinoff hit theaters this past weekend, placing Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw in the spotlight. With the mainline series approaching its end with the upcoming Fast and Furious 10, Hobbs and Shaw read as Universal’s attempt to test the waters and see if they could have success expanding their primary cash cow beyond the story of Dominic Toretto and his family.
The goal, obviously, is for Hobbs and Shaw to be a launching pad for more spinoffs, but Universal hasn’t officially announced or dated any further projects. In all likelihood, they’re seeing how the guinea pig performs before settling on the best course of action. That’s a smart play, especially since there are numerous instances of studios getting far ahead of themselves before realizing what they actually have (hi, Dark Universe). In a summer that’s seen multiple tentpoles struggle mightily at the box office, even the typically reliable Fast and Furious had an uphill climb appealing to viewers. Universal may have a hit, but Hobbs and Shaw gives executives some reason to be concerned.
Hobbs and Shaw earned $60 million domestically in its opening weekend, which is the worst Fast and Furious debut since 2009 and a little under the initial projections. That a spinoff wasn’t as big a draw as one of the mainline installments isn’t anything new (Rogue One opened with $155 million to The Last Jedi’s $220 million), but Hobbs and Shaw’s performance was still a bit alarming. Universal envisioned this as a major summer tentpole, budgeting it at $200 million. That figure is higher than the production costs for all of the recent (since 2011) Fast and Furious films, with the exception of The Fate of the Furious ($250 million). The studio clearly had high hopes for this movie and completely overestimated the general public’s interest in a Fast and Furious spinoff. Even with mostly positive reviews, Hobbs and Shaw wasn’t much of a draw.
Since Fast and Furious’ critical standing improved with 2011’s Fast Five (Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), there’s been a noticeable uptick in box office performance. Furious 7 scored the best professional reviews out of the entire franchise, and broke records with its $147.1 million domestic opening. With a Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 69% and an audience rating of 90%, Hobbs and Shaw should have been a massive smash. Yet, it was a letdown judged by this metric. Not only was Hobbs and Shaw generally well-received, it also didn’t face much competition in its first frame. It’s the last major tentpole of the summer and ran unopposed. That combination usually spells huge numbers, but this time things came up short.
Despite all this, Hobbs and Shaw is by no means a box office bomb yet. It got off to a solid start globally, posting $180 million worldwide and hopefully will have decent legs during the dog days between the end of summer and the start of fall. Most importantly, Hobbs and Shaw doesn’t open in China until August 23, and it’ll probably be a mega draw there. The Fate of the Furious made $392.8 million in the Middle Kingdom and Furious 7 earned $390.9 million in China. Hobbs and Shaw should find an audience in the world’s second-largest film market, which will be its saving grace during its run. The spinoff probably won’t hit $1 billion, but it should turn a healthy profit.
More: Every Fast and Furious Character Referenced in Hobbs and Shaw
