‘The Fast and Furious’ film franchise just keeps on going. Despite criticisms thrown at them, they just don’t seem to care about making the films better, instead, the films keep on getting bigger in scale. The installment’s latest movie’s revised budget is standing at a mammoth $340M! However, the massive risks associated cannot be ignored.
As per reports, while the earlier budget was $200M, the budget has increased by almost 70%, seemingly owing to the increased salaries for series star Vin Diesel and the rest of the franchise’s ensemble cast. The general increase in production costs caused by global inflation and charges for pandemic testing requirements mandated by COVID-19 safety protocols are also understandably major factors.
The reported revised budget is almost equivalent to that of the over $2.7 billion grossing Avengers: Endgame, making the movie among the most expensive movies ever made. With even loyal fans upset at the movies for downright lazy writing, investing such huge money in the franchise is a huge risk.
While the first few films of ‘The fast and Furious’ film franchise were very well received both critically and commercially, nowadays, they are more trolled than loved. Yes, they are still popcorn action flicks that assure a night of wholesome entertainment at the cinemas, but the old magic of the franchise seems to fade with each passing film. The movies did continue making money, and for studios, they are potential cash cows, but will this optimism finally bite them back?
In one word, no.
The film cannot be so easily dismissed. Even in the turbulent times it was released, the last released film of the franchise ‘F9’ grossed over $700M despite getting mixed to negative reviews. As a result, the confidence of Universal Studios in ‘Fast X’ is not a blind one.
With the theatre business almost back to pre-pandemic times, it is to be seen if the risk taken will bear rewards. The nostalgia factor will work in Fast X’s favor along with the expectedly well-choreographed action scenes. Even so, fans are seemingly concerned about the future of their loved franchise.
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