'The Fate of the Furious' could make $400 million over the weekend and top 'Furious 7'

Universal"The Fate of the Furious."March holdovers "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Boss Baby" are the only things keeping the Hollywood box office afloat right now, so Universal's "The Fate of the Furious" couldn't come at a better time.

The eighth movie in the "Fast and Furious" franchise (opening Friday), with wall-to-wall hype, is projected to take in major coin over the weekend, and it could even top the unprecedented success of "Furious 7." Estimates range between $380 million and $400 million worldwide, according to Variety. Domestically the movie should easily take in over $100 million.

Releasing its title in 63 markets globally and showing on the most IMAX screens ever for a movie, Universal is expecting fans of the franchise to come out in droves and pay top dollar to watch Vin Diesel, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and "Fast and Furious" newbie Charlize Theron drive fast and do insane stunts.

However, the movie has a big hill to climb if it plans to top the opening "Furious 7" had.

The 2015 hit broke the record for biggest opening weekend in April with $147.1 million domestically, and worldwide it took in $397.7 million, leading to the movie eventually earning $1.5 billion worldwide over its theatrical run, by far the largest haul for any movie in the franchise.

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