If there’s one crystal-clear takeaway from the first trailer for The Fate of the Furious, it’s that after seven installments, the Fast and Furious franchise still isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.
Universal Pictures released the trailer for the eighth chapter of the hit film series over the weekend, and the preview went on to set a new record with — according to the studio — more than 139 million views in the first 24 hours after its debut.
The number of views tallied by The Fate of the Furious trailer tops the previous record set by the Beauty and the Beast trailer last month. The first trailer for Disney’s live-action adaptation of the hit musical received more than 127.6 million views in its first 24 hours online.
Directed by Straight Outta Compton filmmaker F. Gary Gray, The Fate of the Furious pits Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto against the very same family he’s fostered, nurtured, and protected over the course of the previous seven films. Academy Award winner Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road) plays the mysterious woman who turns Dom against his family — including his wife, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) — and brings him back into the world of high-stakes crime that he and everyone he cares for have been trying to escape.
Along with Diesel, Theron, and Rodriguez, the film’s cast includes returning characters played by Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Kurt Russell, and Elsa Pataky. The newcomers to the franchise in this installment include Scott Eastwood and another Academy Award winner, Helen Mirren, who play unidentified roles in the film.
One of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time, the seven-film Fast and Furious series has generated almost $1.3 billion in ticket sales domestically and almost $3.9 billion worldwide. Last year’s Furious 7 raked in more than $353 million in U.S. theaters and $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the sixth highest-grossing film of all time worldwide with the fifth biggest opening weekend, and was among the fastest films ever released to cross the $1 billion mark.
The Fate of the Furious hits theaters April 14, 2017.
Updated on 12-13-2016 by Rick Marshall: Added announcement of trailer breaking the online viewing record.
