Furious 7 becomes highest grossing Universal film of all time with $1.15bn box office
Furious 7 has lived up to its name after a roaring box office performance made it the seventh highest grossing film in cinematic history.
Released less than a month ago, the action franchise seventh instalment has raced to a $1.15bn international box office making it Universal's highest-ever grossing film.
The film starring Vin Diesel, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez and Paul Walker in a posthumous performance has enjoyed a third consecutive weekend as the world's number one film at the box office thanks to a $167.9m haul across 67 territories.
In a record befitting the franchise, Furious 7 became the fastest film ever to make $1bn, reaching the total after just 17 days on general release. The Avengers, Avatar and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 all took 19 days to cross the $1bn mark.
Furious 7 is likely to stay on general release for a few more weeks yet, giving it a chance to make even more box office records – although it is likely to run out of gas before surpassing Avatar's record $2.8bn due to the competition posed by the forthcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Much of the film's massive success has been driven by its huge popularity outside of the US, and in particular China where it has made $250.5m in eight days making it the country's second-highest grossing film ever. In the UK, the film has made just short of $50m.
The film's success is likely to steer distributor Universal to its best year at the box office with big name sequels Jurassic World and Ted 2 to be released later this year.
On top of selling millions of tickets, Furious 7 has even managed to woo critics with is unabashed approach to spectacle and sentiment, winning it an 82 per cent "fresh score" on Rotten Tomatoes.