IMAX Update: F9 Is Best Opening Weekend Since Pandemic Began

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IMAX Update: F9 Is Best Opening Weekend Since Pandemic Began

F9: The Fast Saga leads this week’s IMAX update as it received the best opening weekend since the pandemic began.The latest entry in the action franchise brought in $14 million from IMAX theaters and became the second biggest May international opening ever, which is made more impressive by it opening in 26 countries fewer than the top holder, Captain America: Civil War. It received the impressive gross from just 800 screens and is Universal’s third-biggest IMAX opening weekend ever after Jurassic World and Fate of the Furious.

F9 found huge success in China as it brought in 12.4 million. That makes it the third-best May China opening weekend ever, only trailing Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Age of Ultron. It’s also Universal’s second-best China opening weekend, which is only below Fate of the Furious. IMAX says the film’s 9 percent indexing in China from just 1 percent of screens is a franchise-best.

Meanwhile, the film’s South Korea launch made it the biggest opening day in the country since December 1, 2019. It made $470,000 from 17 screens, which means an impressive $28,000 per screen. It made up 5 percent of the country’s box office from less than 1 percent of the total screens.

“Summer blockbuster season has arrived with the strong debut of F9, and it’s clear there is healthy pent-up demand among global audiences as big, highly anticipated Hollywood movies return to theaters,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. “’Universal’s bold strategy to launch the release of F9 in China and jump-start the summer clearly paid off, and the early success of the film bodes well for the continued rebound of the global box office.”

In other territories, F9: The Fast Saga IMAX screenings brought in $1 million in Russia/CIS and the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and UAE saw the best pandemic era opening weekend with $38,000 and $23,000 per screen averages, respectively. Russaw saw a $440,000 opening weekend, which was just 2 percent below Hobbs & Shaw‘s opening weekend despite a 50 percent occupancy restriction. Finally, F9‘s IMAX weekend in Hong Kong represented 7 percent of the country’s box office from just three screens.

A Quiet Place Part II launches next week on 400 IMAX screens in North America and internationally.