The stories in the Fast and Furious franchise have only become bigger and more ridiculous as time has gone on and the budgets are no different.
The first Fast and Furious movie came out in 2001 and since then the films have only gotten more expensive as the franchise has continued with each project costing more than the previous one. Each new installment seems like an attempt to outdo the last in scale and the action has only gotten bigger and bigger.
The Fast And The Furious – $38 Million
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in The Fast and the Furious
The first film is the simplest of them all with it focusing solely on the world of street racing which explains why it was the cheapest to make. It followed Brian O’Conner, an undercover officer, played by Paul Walker, that joins a racing crew led by Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto which ends with the two teaming up.
Even though it was the first film in a new original franchise, the film was a surprise success and made $206,458,372 ticket sales during a year that also saw the start of popular franchises like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.
2 Fast 2 Furious – $76 Million
Rather than just repeating the first film, the sequel focused on Brian’s character, who was now working with the FBI and was trying to bring down a drug lord named Carter Verone.
In order to help him while he goes undercover, he reunites with an old friend, marking the first introduction of Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce in the franchise. The film performed better than the original with it making $236,410,607 and doing better critically than the first film as well.
The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift – $85 Million
Unlike the majority of the films, Tokyo Drift doesn’t take place in the United States and, instead of the usual characters, it follows a young man named Sean who moves to Tokyo and gets introduced to the world of drifting.
The film would be the first film to feature the character of Han who would go on to become a major player in the future of the franchise. It is also the lowest-earning film, only making $157,794,20, which could be due to the lack of familiar faces and locations if you exclude the Dom cameo at the end of the film.
Fast & Furious – $85 Million
After Tokyo Drift, the fourth film brings the attention back to the original characters and introduces us to Dom’s new team. It also featured the debut of Gal Gadot as Gisele and the return of Han.
This was also the movie that spawned a lot of confusion regarding the timeline since it was technically set before Tokyo Drift despite releasing after it. The most surprising moment comes when Letty is killed which deeply affects Dom and his actions going forward. The film returning to the original and finding its new normal allowed it to make $363,064,265.
Fast Five – $125 Million
Fast Five was the first film to cost over $100 Million to make and marked the transition from simply being about street racing into basically large-scale superhero movies.
It was also the first in the franchise that managed to break onto the list of the top 10 highest-grossing films of the year, taking the number 6 spot and beating films like the first Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger with $630,163,454, almost double what the last movie made.
Fast & Furious 6 – $160 Million
Following up on the post-credit scene from the last movie, Agent Hobbs comes and asks for the team’s help stopping Owen Shaw in exchange for full pardons and clearing their records. He also reveals to them that Letty was still alive and was a member of Shaw’s crew.
It ended with Letty rejoining Dom’s crew and Gisele’s dying while saving Han during the final act causing him to move to Tokyo and leading into the events of Tokyo Drift which would result in his apparent death. Overall, the film went onto make $789,300,444.
Furious 7 – $190 Million
While the main plot focused on the team trying to track God’s Eye created by a hacker named Ramsay and avoid being killed by Owen Shaw’s brother, Deckard, as payback for his brother, the film was intended to bid farewell to the character of Brian after the tragic death of Paul Walker.
The movie featured a touching tribute to the character and the actor that many felt could have been the end of the franchise. Although 2 movies have come out since then, it still remains the highest-grossing film of the franchise after earning $1,518,722,794.
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw – $200 Million
The franchise’s first official spinoff follows Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw as they work together to stop an ex-MI6 super-soldier named Brixton created by the shadowy organization, Eton, from getting access to a biological weapon.
Despite being a spinoff, the studio was confident enough to put money into it, making it the first Fast and Furious project to cost over $200 Million to put out. Despite not having the more popular of the franchise’s characters in it, the film made $759,867,643 at the box office, bringing in a little less Fast & Furious 6 and around $100 Million more than Fast Five.
The Fate Of The Furious – $250 Million
As is the pattern, the most recent movie is the one that cost the most to make with the budget for The Fate of the Furious coming in at a quarter of a billion. This time, rather than an external threat, the team was forced to fight against Dom due to him being manipulated with his son being used as a pawn to control him.
While it didn’t make as much as Furious 7, it got pretty close securing $1,236,703,796 and broke the record for the biggest opening weekend which at the time was previously held by Star Wars: The Force Awakens.