"Furious 7" sets box-office records after officially becoming China's highest-grossing film of all time. (Photo : Reuters)
"Furious 7" has zipped past a huge box office milestone. The movie has earned over $1 billion in worldwide receipts, in a record time of 17 days. It the first time Universal Studios has hit that mark in its 103-year history.
Nineteen other movies have reached the $1 billion milestone, but "Furious 7" did it the fastest, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Other films to reach the mark include "Titanic" (1997), "Avatar" (2009), and "The Avengers" (2012).
"Furious 7" is the last movie appearance of the late Paul Walker. That helped it to earn over $265 million in North America, and $735 million abroad.
The film already had a positive outlook when it earned $392.3 million during the Easter weekend. That ranks it No. 4 on the all-time best list.
"Furious 7" has also received critical acclaim. It has earned a 82 percent Fresh rating at movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on over 190 reviews by professional film critics.
Ron Meyer, Vice Chairman of NBCUniversal, celebrated the $1 billion milestone on Friday via a blog post. He mentioned a few key features of the movie.
Meyer noted that the Fast & Furious franchise is an "original" live action idea with a completely "diverse" cast. Meyers also stated that Universal focused on making a "great film" after Paul Walker's passing, according to Daily Mail.
Walker died at the age of 40 in a vehicular accident. He had already shot scenes for the film before his tragic death. Paul's brothers Cody and Caleb served as stand-ins to complete his film role.
"Furious 7" also includes stars such as Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, and Michelle Rodriguez. There is already buzz that "Furious 8" will be filmed, due to the box office success of "Furious 7."
The film franchise has unlikely crossed the finish line.
