“Furious 7,” the latest installation of the “Fast and Furious” franchise, set a new midnight screening record after taking in $8.05 million on Sunday amid heavy rain and stormy conditions.
The previous record was held by "Transformers: Age of Extinction" with $3.38-million midnight earnings. The film pulled out a total of $321 million, according to the research group Entgroup.
"Furious 7" stars Vin Diesel, Jason Statham and Michelle Rodriguez, among others. The three visited Beijing in March for the film's premiere. Lead actor Diesel hinted that the 8th edition might probably be shot in China.
"If there is another Fast & Furious, it will be filmed in China," Diesel stated, adding that "the idea of an actor from China being in part of the Fast saga feels inevitable."
Diesel also exclaimed before a hundreds of fans, "I love China!"
Moviegoers in China seem to have reciprocated the actor's shout out as the movie took in a whopping amount of income, with analysts expecting for a major box office in the world's second-largest film market.
On Friday, "Furious 7" reached the $200-million mark in North America coinciding with its eighth day of release. The record made the film the fastest Universal title to hit the mark.
In China, the "Furious 7" was the first film that was released in three major cinema formats: Imax, 3D and China Giant Screen, a local version of Imax.
The seventh installation of the "Fast and Furious" is regarded as the most dramatic edition so far with the last appearance of the character of Paul Walker, who died in a car accident during the filming.