Summary

• Fast X made $704 million at the box office but had an inflated budget of $340 million, resulting in a loss for Universal of around $146 million going by the 2.5 rule.
• Despite the disappointing box office performance, Fast X reportedly turned a profit, although the exact figures may be hidden due to "Hollywood ing."
• Fast X is the lowest-grossing Fast & Furious movie since 2011, indicating a declining interest in the franchise and a negative impact on its success.

Despite Fast X being one of the many movies that underperformed during the summer 2023 season, its disappointing box office still made a profit — but the film's performance isn't that black and white. The 10th Fast and Furious movie is something of a step back for the franchise, as Fast X marks the first time one of its installments hasn't outdone its predecessor in of stunts and set pieces. While F9 sees Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Ludacris) going into space, the biggest action sequence in Fast X is Dominic Toretto and his son driving vertically down a dam.

However, Universal still pulled out all the stops to make Fast X as successful as possible. It even ensured the return of Dwayne Johnson. Johnson plays Luke Hobbs in the Fast and Furious franchise, and his feature follows a public falling-out between him and Diesel. His return was obviously going to help Fast X's box office chances. Unfortunately, that post-credits scene was too little too late, as the movie received a "rotten" 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, a score reflected in its $704 million box office gross (via Box Office Mojo). Still, whether it was a success or a failure is more complicated than that.

Fast X Made $704 Million At The Box Office

Fast X made a total of $704 million worldwide, which is a huge number that most studios would be celebrating. However, that number is way less impressive given how much the movie cost to make. Fast X had an inflated budget of $340 million, which was a result of director Justin Lin leaving Fast X mid-production following creative differences with Vin Diesel. Because of that, production was briefly paused until Universal could find a new director. That pause was reportedly costing Universal $1 million per day (via Cinema Blend). Due to the snowballing budget, the studio was likely looking for a number much higher than $700 million.

The general rule of thumb is that movies need to make 2.5 times their budgets to turn a profit, as marketing costs are typically equal to production budgets, and then movie theaters get a cut of ticket sales. By that standard, Fast X's $340 million budget would have necessitated an $850 million box office to break even. The $704 million gross means that Fast X lost Universal around $146 million. However, the 2.5 rule isn't an exact science, and it seems as if Fast X didn't need to make close to that number to become successful.

Fast X Reportedly Turned A Profit Despite $340M Budget

Variety reported that Fast X did turn a profit according to sources familiar with its financing. Given that Fast X had an inflated budget due to a pause in production following Lin dropping out, it's unlikely that the movie had a marketing budget equal to its production budget. However, the marketing was certainly expensive, as the film's 30-second TV spot during the Super Bowl cost $7 million alone. For Fast X to have turned a profit with a $704 million gross, the marketing must have cost less than $190 million. Even then, no studio spends $700 million just to make $4 million.

However, there's also a possibility that the sources aren't correct. "Hollywood ing" is a well-known term that refers to how movie ants hide real figures for various reasons. It goes both ways, as movies can be seen as wildly successful, but studios still claim that those movies haven't broken even. This is usually done to avoid taxes, bonuses, and other post-movie costs. Bohemian Rhapsody, which grossed $910 million against a budget of just $55 million, still hasn't turned a profit.

How Fast X's Box Office Compares To Other Fast & Furious Movies

The Fast and Furious series has become Universal's most reliable franchise, as Fast & Furious has grossed over $7 billion in total (via The Numbers). This is even more impressive given that the series evolved from a simple 2001 crime drama. However, while the movies reached bigger and bigger milestones throughout the 2010s, such as Fast Five grossing a surprising $626 million and Furious 7 grossing an outstanding $1.5 billion, it's been all downhill since the 2015 movie. Each consecutive movie following Furious 7 has earned less than its predecessor, and Fast X is a new low.

Fast X is the lowest-grossing Fast & Furious movie since 2011's Fast Five. F9 had a monumental box office drop following Fate of the Furious, as the 2021 movie made just $719 million compared to the 2017 movie's $1.23 billion gross. However, there's an asterisk next to F9's performance, as it closely followed the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, there's no asterisk next to Fast X's performance, which means that there's a declining interest in the franchise and that the decreasing quality and lack of story have negatively impacted the franchise's success. Blockbuster franchises should have upward trends, not be making half of what they were making eight years earlier.

Fast X's Box Office Was Successful & Disappointing

Fast X might have been profitable, and the movie turning a profit was likely a relief to Universal. However, simply being profitable doesn't scream "success." Universal's total expenses for the film were likely close to $700 million, meaning that the studio's "profit" was just a few million dollars. That's extremely disappointing given that the film took two years to make and that the studio had invested so much. Along with the fact that the Fast and Furious series had been making way more than a billion dollars per movie in the late 2010s, Fast X's supposed success is even more dispiriting.

The biggest indicator of how disappointing Fast X's box office performance was isn't the total worldwide gross but how much the movie dropped off each week. Movies generally drop between 50-60% each weekend after release; anything below 50% is a reason to celebrate, but anything above 60% is concerning. Fast X dropped a huge 66% in its second weekend (via Fast X ends on a cliffhanger. The success of the follow-up relies heavily on audiences having seen Fast X, which could continue the franchise's downward trend at the box office.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo, Cinema Blend, Variety, The Numbers, Deadline