One Of The Most Important Hits Of The 2000s Returned To The Box Office Top Ten

Universal Pictures

There are many, many big movie franchises out there, but there are perhaps none that are as equally unlikely and downright enormous as "Fast & Furious." Having gone from simple films about street racing and stealing DVD players to global, massive-scale action epics, the property's trajectory is pretty wild. Now, the movie that started it all (making it one of the most important box office hits of the 2000s) has returned to theaters for a victory lap.

Re-released by Universal Pictures in honor of its 25th anniversary, director Rob Cohen's 2001 actioner "The Fast and the Furious" returned to the top 10 on the domestic box office charts over the weekend with a $3.1 million take. That was good enough for eighth place, bringing the movie's lifetime theatrical gross to $210.1 million worldwide against a reported $38 million budget. But what that number really represents is the tip of what became a very big iceberg.

"The Fast and the Furious did well enough commercially for Universal to pull the trigger on additional sequels, starting with "2 Fast 2 Furious." However, it was 2011's "Fast Five" that marked the dawn of a new era for "Fast & Furious." In a decade's time, the franchise had gone from encompassing modest hit action films to international blockbusters.

The original "The Fast and the Furious" (which is really just "Point Break" with Toyotas) centers on Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), an infamous Los Angeles street car racer who is also suspected of masterminding a series of dangerous, on-road hijackings. When undercover cop Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) infiltrates Toretto's crew, he winds up falling for Toretto's sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster), and is forced to choose which side he's on as things escalate between Dom and his rival Johnny Tran (Rick Yune).

Universal Pictures

It's truly incredible that "The Fast and the Furious" birthed the franchise it did. The movie is pretty simple yet undeniably effective. Its first sequel, "2 Fast 2 Furious," was mostly more of the same with some casting changes, but it was the next follow-up, "Tokyo Drift," that opened things up beyond the continental United States.

Still, the sheer leap the franchise took forward with "Fast Five" is unbelievable. 2009's "Fast & Furious" did respectable business ($359.3 million worldwide), but "Fast Five" was a bonafide blockbuster with $630 million. People all around the world began to leave these movies. Even Christopher Nolan loves the "Fast and Furious" films. They became universal rather than relatively niche items for action fans.

To date, across 11 entries, the franchise has made over $7 billion worldwide. It peaked with 2015's "Furious 7," which became the fastest film ever to cross $1 billion at the box office at the time, ultimately earning $1.5 billion worldwide. Things have slowed down a bit since, but these movies are still remarkably popular and have an outsized international audience now.

Case in point: 2023's "Fast X" was one of the most expensive movies ever made, costing $340 million. To say that the franchise is bigger would be an understatement. That movie was still a success, too, earning $714 million worldwide. Nevertheless, the price tags have become problematic, so much so that "Fast and Furious 11" needs to lower its budget in order to succeed. But Universal will figure it out, seeing as this cash cow has delivered time and time again. Its beginnings were humble, but this franchise is now a towering force in Hollywood. 

"The Fast and the Furious" is currently back in theaters.