Patrick Frater reports: Will “The Fate of the Furious” have a bigger opening weekend in North America, or in China? The race is likely to be tight.

“Furious 8” accumulated an unprecedented $65.6 million (RMB453 million) in China by the end of Friday. Known locally as “The Fast and The Furious 8,” the film broke at least two all-time China box office records on its opening run.

The movie earned $10.4 million during preview screenings in North America, putting the U.S. take narrowly ahead of the Middle Kingdom’s gross of $8.24 million. But the getaway was nothing short of spectacular in China, where the movie is released by state-owned distributors China Film Group Corporation and Huaxia Film Distribution.

In midnight screenings between Thursday and Friday, the actioner earned RMB56.5 million, overtaking the RMB52.5 million previews record achieved by “Furious 7” in 2015 … (read more)

via Variety