Popularity can help adjust for high budgets, but that could still be a challenge for Fast X as its budget has blown up to $340 million, according to a report from The Wrap. It would make it the most expensive installment of the franchise, putting it significantly higher than the last entry, F9, costing approximately $200 million.
Numerous issues during production and the cost of big-named stars have been the reason for the Fast X budget to balloon. Some of these factors include tax-incentive offsets, increased salaries, production costs from inflation, and COVID-19 safety protocols. Tag on the marketing costs that every movie needs to consider; making a profit could prove to be a challenge.
Fast X budget setting around $340 million could be making a profit challenging
After grossing $6.6 billion between eight mainline movies and a spinoff, the franchise has been an important part of Universal’s catalog of films. The pandemic has continued to slow down major releases from making a profit, as seen pre-COVID with movies like The Rise of Skywalker and the movies in Phase 3 of the MCU, like Endgame and Infinity War. During the pandemic, we have seen movies prove not to be slowed down too much, like F9 driving in $721 million, Spider-Man: No Way Home webbing $1.9 billion last year, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness summoning $955 million, Jurassic World: Dominion eating $1 billion, and Top Gun: Maverick soaring to $1.4 billion.
The bar has been set with the franchise. Fast X having this reported budget will make it harder to reach the pandemic bar set by F9 for the franchise as it nears the conclusion of the main series of films. Currently, the highest-grossing entry war is Furious 7, taking in $1.5 billion, with Fate of the Furious the only billion-dollar entry with its $1.2 billion worldwide gross. Due to the popularity of the franchise, it is possible to succeed, but it will make for a challenge for Universal to see some money coming into its pockets when the film drives into theaters on May 19, 2023.