Globalism reigns at box office, while ‘Furious’ passes $1B
This image released by Universal Pictures shows, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, seated left, and Nathalie Emmanuel, seated right, and Tyrese Gibson, standing from left, Scott Eastwood, Dwayne Johnson and Michelle Rodriguez in “The Fate of the Furious.” (Matt Kennedy/Universal Pictures via AP) (Associated Press)
NEW YORK — A South India sensation, a Hispanic-focused comedy and the highest-grossing film ever directed by an African American made up the top three films in North America on a culturally diverse box office weekend.
As expected, it was another runaway weekend for “The Fate of the Furious,” which took No. 1 for the third straight week with $19.4 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Universal Pictures release also throttled past $1 billion globally, and passed its predecessor, “Furious 7,” to become the highest-grossing imported film in China with $361 million.
The “Fast and the Furious” franchise, the latest of which is helmed by F. Gary Gray, has always been held up as a model of the diverse blockbuster, given its cast led by Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson. But the smaller films that trailed it over the weekend also reflected the box-office might of often underserved audiences.
In second domestically with $12 million and drawing an overwhelmingly Hispanic crowd was Eugenio Derbez’s comedy, “How to Be a Latin Lover.” The film is easily the biggest success yet for Pantelion, the Latino-oriented joint venture of Lionsgate and Grupo Televisa.
“How to Be a Latin Lover” co-stars Salma Hayek, Rob Lowe and Kristen Bell. But its top draw is Derbez, whose “Instructions Not Included” was the highest-grossing Spanish-language film in North America in 2013. The audience for “How to be a Latin Lover” was 89 percent Hispanic.
In third was “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion,” a so-called Tollywood (Telugu language) film from South India, which pulled in a remarkable $10.1 million despite playing on just 420 screens. (”The Fate of the Furious” played on more than 4,000.)
“Baahubali 2” even bested a pair of Hollywood’s biggest stars in Emma Watson and Tom Hanks. Their terribly reviewed thriller “The Circle,” distributed by STX Films on behalf of EuropaCorp, opened…