There's no question the seventh installment to the "Fast and the Furious" franchise, "Furious 7," is going to have a massive opening weekend.

It is poised to make about $120 million over the Easter holiday.

That would easily give "Furious 7" the highest-grossing opening weekend for April, surpassing 2014's $95 million opening of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier."

According to Fandango, the film's ticket sales are outpacing those of the "Captain America" sequel.

Ahead of "Avengers: Age of Ultron," which arrives to theaters in May, "Furious 7" has a good shot at being the year's first billion-dollar movie.

"This is definitely shaping up to be massive," Phil Contrino, the vice president and chief analyst of BoxOffice.com, told Business Insider. "With a movie like this, it's important not to get too carried away with expectations because ... in the lead-up to a big movie, that's all people are talking about, and it's easy to keep saying, 'It's going to be bigger, and bigger, and bigger.' That said, I think it has a legitimate shot at becoming the next member of the $1 billion global club."

Contrino noted that would be a huge accomplishment.

Look at the box-office numbers for "Fast and Furious 6," and it's not difficult to make that case. The 2013 film made $788 million worldwide ($238 million domestic versus $550 million overseas).

Boxoffice.com is tracking "Furious 7" to make somewhere between $275 million and $280 million stateside during its run in theaters.

"That's a $42 million increase right there," Contrino said. "The last one did about $550 million overseas. I think that number's going to go up exponentially. If there's a $40 million increase in North America alone, even if there's a $10 or $15 million increase in a bunch of key markets like UK, China, Brazil ... that's going to add up really fast. That $550 million number is going to increase quite a bit. [If] you look at it that way and we're not too far from being in the ballpark of $1 billion globally."

"Furious 7" has already opened as No. 1 in 12 markets overseas.

The film will also be Universal Studios' largest film release ever and the widest Imax release ever, showing on 810 Imax screens worldwide. It will open in more than 4,000 theaters Friday in the US and more than 10,500 theaters around the world.

In addition to the high-adrenaline, action-packed storyline, which has received great reviews, the seventh installment serves as a bittersweet send-off to franchise lead Paul Walker, who died in 2013.

Walker's death will be one reason audiences will head out to see "Furious 7."

"This isn't just another entry into a franchise," Contrino said. "It's got more significance to it. Its success at the box office, many people are going to see that as a tribute to Paul Walker and what he brought to the franchise."

"They're going to show up for that reason," he added. "Even if they maybe have skipped some of the other movies, they'll show up for this one."

SEE ALSO: How 'Furious 7' dropped real cars from planes in its most ridiculous stunt yet

AND: The street-racing story that inspired the "Fast and the Furious" movies

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NOW WATCH: The new 'Furious 7' trailer is packed full of cars, explosions, and ridiculous stunts

"Furious 7" kicks off the summer blockbuster season this weekend.

The film already has rave reviews, and analysts are predicting it will top $115 million at the box office opening weekend; however, it may come as a shock to learn that most of this hugely successful franchise almost never made it to the multiplex. 

According to TheWrap, the franchise stalled creatively after the second film in the series, "2 Fast 2 Furious."

2001's original "Fast and the Furious" movie with Diesel, Paul Walker, and Michelle Rodriguez made $207.3 million worldwide. 2003's "2 Fast 2 Furious" improved upon that slightly making $236.4 million worldwide with Walker returning as a co-lead and introducing fan favorites, Ludacris and Tyrese.

The third movie, 2006's "Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift," revolved around a completely new character played by Lucas Black ("NCIS: New Orleans"). Without recognizable stars or a real connection to the first two films, it had the worst performance of the franchise with a $158 million worldwide gross.

As a result, Universal, the studio behind the franchise, came close to releasing sequels directly to DVD. 

"The talk internally was that the franchise was played out," Jeffrey Kirschenbaum, Universal Pictures co-president of production, told TheWrap. "At that point we were weighing whether to go straight to video or not for future sequels. We weren't sure what we were going to do."

What saved the franchise from direct-to-DVD purgatory?

Universal convinced Diesel to come back for a small, surprise cameo in "Tokyo Drift." (In return for an appearance, Diesel the rights to the actor's "Riddick" franchise.) After seeing the ecstatic audience response with Diesel in the picture, the studio decided to hand a large amount of creative control over to the actor.

Diesel is not just a producer; he considers himself to be the "saga visionary," as he does everything from structuring story to selecting songs for the soundtrack. Diesel has become the undeniable face of the series, and Universal knew that based off the huge amount of excitement over his surprise cameo in "Tokyo Drift." 

With Diesel back on board, Universal returned the franchise to its roots, focusing more on heists than underground street racing. Making the friendship between Diesel and Paul Walker the focus of the fourth film helped, given that the absence of one or the other in the second and third films didn't benefit the franchise. 

Another big factor in the franchise's comeback was its budding global appeal.

Even though "Tokyo Drift" flopped stateside ($62.5 million), its Japanese setting helped it picked up an extra $95 million worldwide, enough to help it recoup its estimated $105 million budget. So, Universal strung together a multi-ethnic cast to better reflect its diverse audience, from half-Samoan The Rock to Israeli actress Gal Gadot. Diesel even fought to bring back Michelle Rodriguez who appeared in the first film. 

Then, it took the crew all over the world, from Brazil in "Fast 5" to Russia, Spain, and England in "Fast & Furious 6." Its global ambitions have helped it gross over $2 billion worldwide.

The "Fast and Furious" franchise is now one of the 20 highest-grossing movie franchises of all time, even managing to beat out both the "Toy Story" and "Mission: Impossible" series. Since implementing many of these changes, the last three films grossed a combined total of $1.8 billion worldwide, constituting more than half of the franchise's total $2.3 billion gross.

Universal also embraced social media. They gave "Fast & Furious 6" the largest social media campaign in the studio's history, leading to a Facebook following of 34 million.

"Furious 7," meanwhile, has amassed a fan following of 53 million on its official Facebook page. This is impressive, especially when compared to the pages for upcoming anticipated blockbusters like "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (13.4 million likes) and "Star Wars" (13 million likes). It also helps that Vin Diesel has the biggest Facebook following in Hollywood, with nearly 90 million followers.

The best lesson Universal learned is that before sending your franchise to the $5 bin, listen to your fanbase, whether that be at test screenings or on social media. Having Vin Diesel onboard doesn't hurt, either.

SEE ALSO: The true street-racing story that inspired the 'Fast and Furious' movies

AND: "Fast and Furious 7" will likely be the next $1 billion movie

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NOW WATCH: Cars fall from the sky in the new 'Furious 7' movie

With "Furious 7"— the  latest installment of the "Fast and Furious" series —  out in theaters on Easter weekend, we now know what car the film's villain will be driving. 

It's a Jag!

Jason Statham is the bad guy, and his character — the sinister Deckard Shaw — opens the film behind the wheel of a white Jaguar F-Type. 

Previous "Fast and Furious" villains have driven everything from a Honda S2000s to an Aston Martin Vanquish.

But those who've been watching TV for past year shouldn't be all that surprised to find the "Furious 7" baddie behind the wheel of a Jag. 

Jaguar kicked off its "Good to be bad" marketing campaign last year with a gloriously sinister Super Bowl ad.

The ad, featuring such British movie villains as Sir Ben Kingsley, Mark Strong — and Loki himself, Tom Hiddleston — plays on why Brits make such great evil dudes. Interspersed with the actors' speeches are shots of Jag's F-Type driving through London.

The campaign is meant to position the Jaguar as a sleek and attractive, yet naughty, alternative to the straight-and-narrow Mercedes and BMWs that dominate the luxury car segment. 

And it seems to have worked, with Jaguar Land Rover notching its best sales year ever in 2014. 

Like his fellow "Fast and Furious" characters, Statham's Shaw won't be confined to just one car. Throughout the film, Shaw will also be behind the wheel of a modified Maserati Ghibli and an Aston Martin DB9. 

And this isn't the only badness on film that we'll be seeing from Jag. The carmaker's terrifyingly gorgeous C-X75 will provide a wicked set of wheels for the villain in the upcoming James Bond flick, "Spectre."

The Jaguar F-Type sports car is the company's highly praised follow up to the legendary E-Type of the 1970s. With power coming from an available 5.0-liter, 550-horsepower, supercharged V8, the sleek cat can rocket to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds, with a top speed of 186 mph.

In addition to the top-of-the-line V8 coupe, the F-Type is also available in convertible and supercharged V6 variants. 

Business Insider got the chance to spend a few hundred miles behind the wheel of both the coupe and convertible versions of the Jag and came away duly impressed by the sports car. We found the F-Type to be a capable high performance machine that's both luxurious and comfortable to drive, with an exquisitely styled exterior.

"Furious 7" hits theaters in the US April 3. 

Check out the official trailer here:

SEE ALSO: The 15 coolest cars from the 'Fast and Furious' movies

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NOW WATCH: Cars fall from the sky in the new 'Furious 7' movie

The "Fast and Furious" franchise has evolved from films featuring hot cars and hot babes to having some of the most heart-stopping stunts you'll find at theaters.

One of the men responsible for making those scenes look as realistic as possible is 30-year stunt veteran Spiro Razatos.

"For the fourth film ("Fast & Furious") they kind of relied too much on CGI," Razatos told Business Insider. "So they realized they wanted to do less. That's what I do."

Razatos is responsible for some of the most jaw-dropping sequences from the franchise including when Dom (Vin Diesel), Brian (Paul Walker), and the rest of the crew dragged a giant bank vault through the busy streets of Rio de Janeiro in "Fast Five."

He also worked on the duel with a tank in "Fast and Furious 6."

In both sequences, very little CGI was included, using real vaults and tanks to pull it off.

With fans starving for more, "Furious 7" director James Wan and the producers once again came to Razatos to take on the franchise's most insane sequence yet.

They called it the "air drop."

The idea was to have a sequence in the film in which Dom and company in their souped-up cars drop from a plane high above Colorado and parachute into the mountains below.

"When I first read [the script] it was, 'cars drop and they kidnap this girl and they get away on the road,' that was it," Razatos recalls.

The producers assumed the sequence would have to rely heavily on special effects, but Razatos had other plans.

"I said let's really go for it and make the effort because I want this whole sequence to feel real, that's what the audience expects," he said.

The stunt took months of prep time to solve problems. Cameras needed to be mounted onto cars in a way that they wouldn't be destroyed when the cars landed, and the crew needed a safe way to get the cars out of the plane.

"What if one of them gets stuck coming out of the plane?" said Razatos. "How is the plane going to land when you have a car dangling outside of it?"

They finally were able to do a "dry run," with a single car falling out of a plane. But some on the film weren't impressed by the raw footage.

"It was 20 minutes and the cameras weren't placed where they should be," Razatos recalls. "I remember telling the guys, 'ignore this, this is just a test.'"

With a green light, shooting took place in Colorado with two airplane runs, flying at 12,000 feet, that would drop two cars apiece.

Over 10 cameras were used for the sequence. In addition to cameras on the ground, there were cameras remotely operated inside the plane and another three mounted outside each car. Additional cameras were on a helicopter where Razatos was stationed watching monitors and listening to the radio chatter. Three skydivers used in the shoot wore helmet cams.

Skydivers would either jump out before cars or after them.

"I didn't realize how intense it would be," Razatos admits now.

"Sometimes a piece of debris would come off the car, so skydivers had to watch out for that," he added. "I'm in a helicopter and I want to get in close for the shots but you have to watch out because of the helicopter blades."

There were also spotters keeping an eye on how close the cars were getting to the skydivers. "On the radio you'd hear people say, 'Skydiver, 200 feet you have a car gaining on your two o'clock,'" Razatos said.

Regardless of all the safety precautions, accidents can happen. Razatos says in one of the runs a skydiver lost his footing getting out of the plane and bounced off the rear exit hatch on his way out of the plane. Not the most graceful of jumps, but Razatos said he was fine.

When one car landed, its parachute caught an air pocket and was carrying the car to the freeway. "I'm hearing on the radio the car is being dragged and it can't stop," said Razatos. "People were on motorcycles to get to the car; jumping on the car with knives to cut the parachute." 

And then there's the one car of the four that didn't make it because its parachute didn't deploy. "That car got demolished," said Razatos. "You got to see what would happen if a car really dropped from that height."

Much of what Razatos and his 2nd unit team did on the day made it into the final cut of the movie. Some of it was enhanced to increase the look of the speed at which cars were diving. Shots of the actors in the cars were put in later. But, for the most part, Razatos' mission to do the scene as realistically as possible was a success.

"I started doing stunts when I was 10 years old making Super 8 movies. This feels like I'm back in those days," Razatos said about working on the "Fast and Furious" films.

Thinking back on the "air drop" sequence he admits, "That's going to be hard to top."

Here's a behind-the-scenes look at how the sequence was done:

 And here's how it looks in the film:

SEE ALSO: Meet the sexy $3 million hypercar featured in 'Fast and Furious 7'

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Warning: There are some spoilers ahead.

"It's been a long day, without you my friend. And, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again. We've come a long way from where we began. Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again." 

Those are the first lyrics to the emotionally-charged Paul Walker tribute at the end of "Furious 7" that will undoubtedly leave most fans of the series in tears. Walker, the costar of the "Fast and Furious" franchise, died in November 2013. 

Wiz Khalifa wrote the song, titled "See You Again," for the film. You can listen to it below.  

In the scene, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker drive along side by side for "one last ride," one of the phrases that has been synonymous with the film's marketing. 

The scene directly echoes the end of the first film from 2001 in which Diesel and Walker's characters street race and attempt to outrun a train. 

When the movie first premiered during seven early screenings for fans in mid-March, Vin Diesel asked them not to spoil the end for others who haven't seen it yet. 

"Know that you are a select few that have been allowed to see this movie before April 3," Diesel told an audience in Los Angeles. "So, think about that. And allow people to enjoy the movie and discover it for themselves."

Now, that the movie has been made available to the public, it's one of the biggest scenes fans are talking about from the film.

Mike Knobloch, president of film music and publishing at Universal Pictures, described the song and scene as a "celebration of Paul's life" to the Huffington Post. 

Fans agreed, taking to Twitter using the hashtag #ForPaul that appears at the end of the film to discuss the scene, Walker's performance, and the film in general.

Since the film's release Friday, the movie's emotional tribute to Walker has also found its way online.  

A quick search for the "Furious 7" ending on YouTube prompts several uploads of the movie's ending.

Here it is below. It will most likely be pulled from YouTube.

SEE ALSO: Our review of "Furious 7"

AND: "Furious 7" has a record-breaking weekend at the box office

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The new 'Furious 7' trailer is packed full of cars, explosions, and ridiculous stunts

Interested in seeing the latest Fast and Furious installment Furious 7 but don't want to go in unarmed? Check out this 10-minute recap and sharpen up on your F&F skills by learning the hows and whys of Dominic Toretto, Brian O'Conner and the boys prior to sitting in that theater seat.

There's no shame in having to brush up on your Fast and Furious skills. Heck, there are seven films and counting in the high-octane franchise after all. The good news is this highly compact video, courtesy of The Verge, doesn't just pull together all of the footage necessary to get you "up to speed" on the street racing series, it also goes above and beyond to entertain. Yeah we learned all about O'Conner's love for Dom's sister Mia Toretto and about how the gang came up with its plan to rob crime boss Herman Reyes. We also learned more plot points from the third film in the franchise The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (you know, the sequel with none of the original cast) than we'd probably otherwise ever would have come to know. Just listen to the narrator's enthusiasm when saying the words "race scene." It really does say it all!

Do we need to have seen the prior film installments to understand what's going to take place in the upcoming Furious 7? No, probably not, but when delivered as hilariously and efficiently as this... why say no? Thanks to the above vid I now know that the current installment takes place chronologically after the above-mentioned Tokyo Drift (which actually follows the events of the last film Fast & Furious 6. I know, it's confusing, right?!)

In other Fast & Furious news, we recently learned Ja Rule turned down the chance to reprise his role of Edwin in the sequel to the original — a move that reportedly cost him not only the $500,000 he was offered to bring back his character but also the gargantuan sums of money he'd likely have made off the next four or five films in the series. Replaced by Ludacris, who was thrilled to work with director John Singleton in the 2nd film, he officially walked out on his chance to be in the 16th-highest-grossing franchise in history. I think it's safe to say Luda is smiling all the way to the bank.

James Wan's already-successful Furious 7, starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Jordana Brewster, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Dwayne Johnson and more, hit theaters this past Friday and promises endless supplies of visual effect, crazy stunts, blazingly fast street races and just incase you haven't heard... skydiving cars.

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NOW WATCH: 14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do

Universal Pictures’ marketing of “Furious 7” after the death of Paul Walker received high marks from several analysts and advertising executives on Sunday.

The weekend’s box-office opening numbers — $143 million domestically and $240 overseas for the action sequel – speak for themselves.

But the studio was forced to walk a fine line with the film’s promotion after Walker died in a car crash in November 2013.

“Restrained but effective” was how the campaign was characterized by one industry marketing executive, who like most of the people interviewed for this story chose to remain anonymous.

“They didn’t lean on it, but they touched on it,” said another industry insider.

Universal executives had declined to address the subject before the film came out, but on Sunday at least one spoke for the first time.

“I can tell you personally that I’m very proud of the way the studio and marketing department walked us through what otherwise would have been a very tricky situation,” Universal’s president of domestic distribution Nick Carpou told TheWrap.

“They handled everything that had to do with Paul respectfully and positively, and what emerged is more respect and a celebration of Paul and the franchise to the world. For the production team, Vin (Diesel) and the rest of the cast this was a matter of personal importance and that shows through.”

The challenge was to serve the star’s fans without seeming exploitative or disrespectful.

Mission accomplished, said Rentrak senior analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

“I think from the very moment of Walker’s tragic passing, Universal did a masterful job of honoring his memory and respecting his legacy, while at the same time going about the business of marketing one of the biggest movies on their slate,” he said. “Furious 7” was shifted from its original August 2014 release date in the wake of his death.

“It takes a tremendous amount of sensitivity and diplomacy to walk the perfect public relations tightrope whenever something unexpectedly tragic like this happens," Dergarabedian said.

“There was clearly a lot of thought that went into the handling of this and how Walker is portrayed not only in the the trailers and imagery for the film, but also how he is represented in a very poignant and respectful way within the film itself,” he said.

Walker died with about half of his scenes shots. His brothers Caleb and Cody stood in for him in some, and others were reconstructed using computer-generated images.

The “Fast & Furious” fan base likes to think of itself as a family, and nothing put that to the test like Walker’s death. In that spirit, many of the followers of the franchise first fought through the tragedy, then embraced Walker’s legacy and celebrated it, framing their attendance at “Furious 7” as a tribute to the fallen star.

Walker’s friend and costar Diesel and other cast members set the tone in person and on social media, repeatedly citing their “brother,” and making sure that his contributions weren’t forgotten. They rarely passed on tough questions about their loss, and did their best to spin it forward into an homage to his memory.

At the film’s premiere in Hollywood, Diesel gave a tearful speech, saying “This movie is more than a movie … I’m going to tell you, last year it was really tough to come back to work.”

The film’s “One Last Ride” catchphrase can be taken as a tribute to Walker, particularly with the somber and and almost stark black-and-white imagery used in the promo art.

“Furious 7” concludes with a clip montage tribute to Walker, showcasing scenes from earlier films in the series, that had many moviegoers leaving the theater in tears.

SEE ALSO: Fans are uploading the emotional ending to 'Furious 7' online

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NOW WATCH: Cars fall from the sky in the new 'Furious 7' movie

"Fast and Furious 7,” aka “Furious 7,” had a record-breaking opening weekend at theaters.  

The film, which grossed an estimated $143.6 million over the holiday weekend, beat all analyst expectations, which originally estimated the film would make between $115 million and $120 million. 

Now, the film is the highest-grossing debut for an April movie and Easter weekend. 

“Furious 7” also debuted at number one in 63 markets, grossing another $240.4 million overseas to bring its worldwide total to $384 million. 

Why did “Furious 7” take off at the box office? There were many of factors that led to the film’s success both at home and overseas. 

1. Paul Walker

The most obvious reason fans and non-fans may want to head out to see the film is to see how Universal and the cast handled finishing the seventh installment in the franchise after Walker’s death in November 2013. 

Ludacris said recently at one of the first fan screenings that Walker completed about 80% of filming. Walker’s brothers Caleb and Cody came in to help complete the rest.  

“Its success at the box office, many people are going to see that as a tribute to Paul Walker, and what he brought to the franchise and they’re going to show up for that reason,” Phil Contrino, the vice president and chief analyst of BoxOffice.com, tells Business Insider. “Even if they maybe skipped some of the other movies, they’ll show up for this one.” 

“The big thing is, what happens to Paul Walker and how they handle that,” adds Contrino. 

Cast members like Vin Diesel and Tyrese have been telling their social media networks that they hope to make Paul (or Pablo, as some affectionately refer to him) proud with this movie. The hashtag “#ForPaul” appears on screen at the film’s end, offering fans the chance to start a conversation. 

2. Vin Diesel

After Walker’s death, Diesel quickly became one of the most-followed celebrities on Facebook, with over 87 million likes, as he shared images and stories of himself and Walker with fans in both English and Spanish.

Diesel makes it a point to share news with his fans first. He revealed the release date for “Furious 7” before Universal had the chance to break the news, and has shared news of secret meetings at Marvel and Facebook headquarters with Mark Zuckerberg. 

Diesel also gained a big following after his role in last summer’s hit, “Guardians of the Galaxy,” in which he played the lovable tree Groot, a role the actor later said helped him get through Walker’s death.

The 47-year-old Diesel has been the driving force behind the “Fast and Furious” franchise for some time. After skipping the 2003 sequel, “2 Fast 2 Furious,” Diesel returned at the end of the third film, “Tokyo Drift,” for a brief cameo.  

After "Tokyo Drift" had the worst performance of the series, taking in $158 million worldwide, Universal considered sending the series straight to video. Instead, the studio turned to Diesel, giving him creative control over the franchise. Since then, each film has only been bigger, both in terms of stunts and worldwide gross. 

3. Social media 

It’s not just Vin Diesel. Much of the cast — including Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese, and Ludacris — are among the stars that have shared behind-the-scenes images from the film before it hit theaters, and related anecdotes and memories of Paul to fans. Some of the biggest cast members in the film openly grieved Walker’s death and the fans responded to that enormously. 

The “Fast and Furious” movies in general have a huge social footprint. The films’ Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube pages and more are a well-oiled machine. While the movie’s YouTube page has put out countless featurettes on the making of the film and nostalgic clips from previous installments, Instagram was releasing seven-second long videos teasing footage for the movie days before the trailer came out.  

The Facebook account alone has 54.9 million followers— well more than Marvel (17.9 million) and “Star Wars” (13 million) combined. 

Each social account was always putting out something different that engaged fans and felt organic. Unlike other films, the social experience didn’t stop once a film was put out. Fans are never given a chance to forget about the “Fast” family. 

“If you follow ‘Minions,’ ‘Jurassic World,’ and ‘Fifty Shades of Grey,’ they had the same approach with those movies where it was just kind of a slow-drip marketing approach,” Contrino explains. “Where they say here’s a new still or here’s a funny ‘Minions’ video or here’s something from ‘Jurassic World.’ They keep it going and they keep building it. People share that stuff and they add more likes.” 

“Universal’s marketing department deserves a huge amount of credit for how successful these movies are,” says Contrino. “They’re going to be neck and neck with Disney this year, at least domestically, for the highest market share of the major studios at the box office. That’s pretty significant because they don’t have a superhero franchise and they’re doing incredibly well.” 

4. The diverse cast

There’s a reason the audience opening weekend for “Furious 7” was 75% non-white. 

One of the things the “Fast and Furious” franchise excels at, which so many other franchises have difficulty doing organically, is having an ethnically rich cast that that hits upon nearly every demographic.  

A look at all of the “Fast and Furious” films shows that the characters speak a number of languages on screen including Spanish, English, and Russian. 

Entertainment Weekly recently pointed this out in a cover story titled, “This is What America Looks Like: So why don’t our movies?” 

Diesel told EW, “It doesn’t matter what nationality you are. As a member of the audience, you realize you can be a member of that ‘family.’ That’s the beautiful thing about how the franchise has evolved.” 

“They do it in a smart way,” Contrino tells us. “It doesn’t feel tacked on like some movies where a Spanish-speaking character pops up for an obligatory line or two that’s caricature. They don’t do that. It’s fully fleshed-out characters who people care about. That’s a huge lesson for any other content producers who want to take the quick easy route. That doesn’t work. You have to do it the right way.” 

5. It’s more than just a car movie

Since its inception in 2001, the “Fast and Furious” films have had souped-up cars, hot chicks, and ridiculous stunts. While the films certainly contain those elements, at the heart of each movie, especially the last three, is family. 

Nowhere does this resonate more than in the series’ fifth film, when Dominic Toretto (Diesel) gathers everyone around to say, “The most important thing in life will always be the people in this room. Right here. Right now. Salud mi familia."

The "Fast and Furious" films are fun, they’re silly, but at the end of the day they're about Dom protecting both his immediate and his extended families.  

That’s something to which everyone worldwide can relate.

SEE ALSO: One of the most insane stunts in ‘Furious 7’ almost didn’t happen

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NOW WATCH: Cars fall from the sky in the new 'Furious 7' movie

The seventh installment of the successful "Fast and Furious" franchise is in theaters this weekend. 

Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese, and Ludacris return along with the late Paul Walker for another sequel to the epic car saga which started over a decade ago.

However, you may not realize that at the heart of the globe-spanning, physics-defying films lies a real-life story about street racing in New York City.

The movies, which have earned well over $2.3 billion globally, were inspired by an article from Ken Li in the May 1998 issue of Vibe.

"Racer X" tells the story of street racer Rafael Estevez from Washington Heights and how he transitioned into the sport of drag racing.  

The article also divulges on the popularity of Japanese import car customization and the operations in place to crack down on New York City street racing.

"Racer X" was a featurette available on a "Fast and the Furious" disc release that came out in 2002. 

In the feature, director Rob Cohen reveals he was inspired to make the film after hearing about the article and subsequently watching a race in Los Angeles.

As a result, Cohen convinced Universal to make the film and the studio bought the rights to the film from Li. 

2001's "The Fast and the Furious" was a film featuring an LAPD officer (Paul Walker) who went undercover into the world of illegal street racing to join the ranks with a well-established racer (Vin Diesel). 

The film, produced on an estimated $38 million budget, went on to make $207.3 million worldwide.

Watching the film now, it's easy to see the article's influence in the movie. 

Here are excerpts from "Racer X": 

A black Nissan 300ZX and a white Mitsubishi Starion pull out of the pack and creep up to the starting line. As the sun dances on the nearby river, the sound of honking horns and screaming drivers is drowned out by the sonic blast of the two engines revving for takeoff. A stocky Latino dude in a blinding yellow shirt stands in the middle of the highway and raises his hands. Both cars lurch and halt like chained pit bulls, their wheels spitting out black smoke. The hands drop.

Young men have been fascinated with tweaking and tuning big block Chevys and Mustangs since the days of Rebel Without a Cause. But the new guys wouldn’t be caught dead driving the gaudy muscular beasts of yesteryear. Instead, they’re tricking out low-buck Japanese imports like Honda Civics and Acura Integras and tattooing them like skateboards with Neuspeed and Greddy car parts stickers. By stroking the engine, adding a supercharger, and hitting the “juice” (nitrous oxide: a gaseous liquid once used to boost bomber planes in WWII), they can smoke the herb in the Iroc at the stoplight.

Read the full piece HERE.

"Furious 7" is in theaters April 3. 

Relive the trailer for the original film below which has a drastically different feel from the heart of the more recent additions to the franchise.

SEE ALSO: The cars that will be in "Furious 7"

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Those of us who watched Furious 7 in theaters this past weekend were treated to a touching tribute to the late Paul Walker at the end.

Director James Wan and his crew used a combination of CGI, Wiz Khalifa’s "See You Again" and a montage of scenes from all the Fast and Furious films to give their brother a proper sendoff.

Though this moment brought many a tear to audiences around the world, Wan recently opened up about the ending that was originally planned prior to Walker’s tragic death.

Speaking with Collider, Wan said that the ending had originally served a much different purpose.

"The original ending of Furious 7 was setting up, you know, the bigger world of where the Fast and Furious franchise could go into. And that’s obviously very smart of them to think so. But when the tragedy happened, all of that became irrelevant. So it did not matter anymore, all of that stuff. And to the studio’s credit, they did not push for that. They realized how important it was to make a movie that finishes and that just outright is a tribute to Paul Walker. So I give them a lot of credit for being bigger than that and going along with this ending that is the right ending to go with."

Walker was taken from the world too soon after a car accident in 2013.

The actor had already filmed the majority of his scenes, which prompted the release to be pushed out of 2014 and the studio utilizing various methods to finish production.

Walker’s brothers, Cody and Caleb, were enlisted to help finish his remaining scenes, and CGI was used to bring Walker back for the Furious 7 ending. If you haven’t seen it, get a tissue, because Universal released the music video for "See You Again" that features footage from the scene. 

As Walker’s co-star and on-screen wife Jordana Brewster told HuffPost Live, none of the cast members were sure they’d return to the franchise following the death.

So far, Furious 7 has performed better than expected at the box office, becoming the Fast and Furious film with the highest-grossing opening weekend and taking in the most dough of any film with an early Thursday premiere. Fast and Furious 8 seems like a sure thing, but Brewster is still unsure whether she would return as Mia. For now, she’s leaving it up to the fans.

Diesel, on the other hand, has already begun teasing where the next installment will go. Though it’s not official yet, start prepping for some New York City street action.   

SEE ALSO: How Universal had to change the marketing of 'Furious 7' after Paul Walker died

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NOW WATCH: Cars fall from the sky in the new 'Furious 7' movie

"Furious 7"broke box-office records when it debuted in theaters over Easter weekend.

The film has already made over $406 million worldwide, and is on track to be the first $1 billion movie of 2015.

While you'll most definitely remember the ridiculous, over-the-top stunts from the movie, can you recall all the cars you saw?

Concave Brand Tracking, a market company which tracks and analyzes brands in entertainment content, identified around 30 different cars in the film.   

Concave provided us with lists of the top 10 car brands featured in the last three "Fast and Furious" films, "Fast Five,""Fast and Furious 6," and "Furious 7."

Here are the top 10 car brands featured in "Furious 7":

1. Dodge
2. Chevrolet
3. W Motors
4. Plymouth
5. Subaru
6. Maserati
7. Mercedes-Benz
8. Nissan
9. Audi
10. Aston Martin

Dodge was the most visible car brand seen in both "Fast Five" and "Furious 7." BMW tied Dodge for the most brand visibility in "Fast and Furious 6."

Below, you can see the top 10 car brands featured in "Fast Five,""Fast and Furious 6," and "Furious 7": 

Even though Dodge cars can be seen on screen more than double the amount of a Chevrolet vehicle (5 minutes and 33 seconds vs. 2 minutes and 41 seconds), Concave notes Dodge's appearances in "Furious 7" are mostly (92%) subtle with no discernible logo time on screen.

The logo names for W Motors, Subaru, and Audi are all considered 100% visible. 

In addition, Concave broke down the cars associated with the main six cast members the most.

Fans of the series shouldn't be surprised to see Dodge is linked most closely to Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel). Since the first film, his car of choice has been a classic American muscle car. 

Tyrese is mostly seen with the Chevrolet brand, while Jason Statham's villain Deckard Shaw is associated with a Maserati most of the time. Walker's character Brian O'Conner can be seen with five different car brands including Nissan and Subaru.

You can see Concave’s study here.

SEE ALSO: "Furious 7" will likely be the first $1 billion film of 2015

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Reckless driving isn't quite as repercussion-free as the Fast and Furious films make it seem.

More than 230 cars were destroyed during the filming of Furious 7, the Universal franchise's picture car coordinator Dennis McCarthy told the Washington Post. 

One sequence filmed on a mountainous highway pass in Colorado proved to be particularly damaging.

"We probably destroyed 40-plus vehicles just shooting that sequence," McCarthy told the Post. 

During the filming of 2013's Fast & Furious 6, the movie's team set up deals with owners of area used-car lots and junkyards.

"We'd wreck 25 cars a day; they’d come out at night, scoop 'em up and bring us 25 more," McCarthy said.

He added that the crew needed to be particularly careful that each ruined car would get completely crushed and rendered unusable, as to avoid any possible litigation by people who want to own a film-used car.

"We have to account for every single car destroyed in each film," he explained.

SEE ALSO: Here are the car brands that appear the most in 'Furious 7’

AND: 5 reasons "Furious 7" had a record-breaking opening weekend at the box office

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NOW WATCH: Cars fall from the sky in the new 'Furious 7' movie

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The seventh “Fast and Furious” film, “Furious 7,” dominated the box office for the second weekend in a row. 

After a record debut of $147 million Easter weekend, “Furious 7,” brought in another $60.6 million at theaters. 

Only 11 movies have ever had a better second weekend at the domestic box office. 

The last time a movie performed that well was “American Sniper” with $64.6 million in its second week. 

With $800 million worldwide, “Furious 7” is on track to be the first $1 billion movie of the year. Disney’s anticipated “Avengers” and “Star Wars” sequels are expected to be big hits later this year. 

Here are a few moments highlighting how big of a streak “Furious 7” and Universal Studios is having at the box office: 

• The film is currently number one in 67 countries. 
• It had the largest debut in China ever with $68.6 million. (That’s even slightly more than how much the film made its first day domestically.) 
• The film had the largest four-day opening weekend ever in Russia ($15 million). 
• It's the highest-grossing opening weekend in April ($147 million). Previously, that title belonged to "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" ($95 million). 
• “Furious 7” is now the highest-grossing “Fast and Furious” movie in the franchise both domestically and worldwide. Previously, “Fast and Furious 6” held the record earning $788.7 million worldwide. 
• It’s Universal’s second hit movie of the year. On Valentine’s Day, the studio released the highly-anticipated “Fifty Shades of Grey,” which has grossed over $566 million worldwide to date on an estimated $40 million budget. 
• The studio’s not done yet. Expect another big hit in June when the next “Jurassic Park” film is released. Chris Pratt, who became a big star in 2014 for hits “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “The LEGO Movie,” will lead the franchise. 

"Furious 7" still has two more weekends to rake in even more money domestically until Disney and Marvel's "Avengers: Age of Ultron" officially kicks off the summer box office May 1. 

SEE ALSO: Here are the car brands that appear the most in "Furious 7"

AND: Why "Furious 7" is dominating the box office

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After a prolonged slump to begin 2015, the box office got a desperately-needed shot in the arm when Universal released Furious 7 on April 3. Taking advantage of a weak crop of “competitors,” the action sequel broke the month’s opening weekend record by making an impressive $147.1 million during its first three days. Not too long after that, the film became the highest-grossing installment in the series – after just 10 days of release.

It was long expected Furious 7 would be one of the year’s top earners when 2015 was in the history books, but few could have predicted that it would become one of the biggest movies of all-time. Indeed, that’s exactly what’s happening as Furious 7‘s commercial hot streak has continued. After only 17 days in theaters, the film has crossed the $1 billion milestone, becoming just the 20th film in Hollywood history to do so.

That accomplishment gets even more noteworthy when you throw in the fact that Furious 7 became a member of the $1 billion club faster than anyone else. The previous record was 19 days in a three-way tie between The Avengers, Avatar, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. When you factor in that those three projects all benefited from 3D surcharges (when Furious 7 did not), it makes this unprecedented run all the more extraordinary.

In a press release, Universal announced that Furious 7 is the first film of theirs to cross $1 billion in its initial theatrical release. Jurassic Park was technically the first product from the studio to gross that much, but that’s when you also include the amount of money it grossed during its 2013 3D release ($45.3 million in the States). When it’s all said and done, Furious 7 should be the highest-grossing film Universal has ever distributed (it already is in 26 territories), making it easy to see why their executives are interested in continuing the series with Fast & Furious 8 down the line.

As we’ve said before, there are numerous reasons why the film is having this much success at the box office. Chief among them is the fact that this marks the final career performance of Paul Walker, who lost his life while the movie was still in production. Everyone ranging from die-hard fans to casual moviegoers were interested to see how the “tribute” portion of the film was handled, making the “one last ride” of Furious 7 more of an event than other installments.

The other way Furious 7 has made so much in so little time is because it was released during a vacant time at the marketplace. Universal arguably was smart to avoid the glut of summer blockbusters this year by putting their film out in the beginning of spring. It was a strategy Marvel Studios employed last year when Captain America: The Winter Soldier enjoyed a similar run, dominating the box office for a solid month until similar films started hitting the multiplex. Audiences were getting desperate for some popcorn entertainment, and Furious 7 delivered it in spades.

The only real drama left is how far up the all-time charts Furious 7 can go. It’s currently at 20th and more than likely will clear some of the smash hits ahead of it (including, among others, The Dark Knight) by the time it ends its theatrical run. But any other records it breaks is gravy at this point as far as Universal’s concerned. Back in 2001, they took a chance at a niche film about underground street racing culture and ended up turning it into one of the most profitable tentpoles in the industry. No matter how you feel about these movies, that’s quite an accomplishment.

Furious 7 is now playing in theaters.

Source: Universal Pictures

Follow Chris Agar on Twitter @ChrisAgar90

SEE ALSO: Here are the car brands that appear the most in 'Furious 7’

SEE ALSO: This is the sports car villain Jason Statham is driving in 'Furious 7'

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It's official!

"Fast and Furious" star Vin Diesel confirmed at Universal's CinemaCon panel, an annual event for theater owners, that the next installment to the franchise is happening.

The currently untitled eighth chapter will be released April 14, 2017.

The seventh film in the franchise, "Furious 7," has now grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide.

It became the fastest film to hit $1 billion, crossing the mark in just 17 days.

Variety reports Diesel told theater owners "It means a lot to me to get your blessing." 

Diesel previously hinted at another installment to the popular franchise during a recent appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" While promoting "Furious 7," he explained he always thinks of these films as trilogies.

The actor said that the addition of Kurt Russell in the seventh movie was to introduce him for a story arc in a future film which would take place in New York.

"So, Kurt Russell came in for this movie ["Furious 7"], but he was really … we really hired him because of a story that follows this that takes place in New York," said Diesel.

SEE ALSO: How Vin Diesel helped save the "Fast and Furious" franchise from going to straight to video

AND: "Fast and Furious 7" is an absolutely ridiculous thrill ride and Paul Walker tribute that fans will love

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NOW WATCH: Cars fall from the sky in the new 'Furious 7' movie

The 1993 Toyota Supra stunt car used during filming for the original Fast and the Furious movie that came out in 2001—and driven by the late Paul Walker—has sold at auction for $185,000.

It crossed the block last week at the Mecum Auctions event held in Indianapolis and landed right within its pre-auction estimate of between $150k and $200k.

It was one of several MkIV Supras built for the movie by Eddie Paul from The Shark Shop in El Segundo, California, and was featured in several key scenes including the final race between Walker ‘s character Brian O’Connor and Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto who was in a 1970 Dodge Charger.

In real life, however, it’s unlikely to be winning any races as the car is pretty much bone stock under the skin. It’s a non-turbo model, meaning its 3.0-liter straight-six engine only musters up around 230 horsepower. On the outside, it wears a Bomex body kit, APR wing, and those now-famous graphics which were added by San Diego’s Modern Image.

Other highlights from the recent Mecum auction were a 1967 Shelby 427 Cobra Roadster that sold for $1 million as well as a 1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona coupe that sold for $775,000. An original matching numbers 1965 Shelby GT350 was also sold, raising $355,000 in the process.

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After the global box-office success of "Furious 7," Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson returns to theaters this weekend in "San Andreas," another high-octane adrenaline rush which sees Johnson saving lives as a first responder at the expense of the largest earthquake of all time.

Though the film has been getting mixed reviews, estimates are predicting the film will have an opening north of $40 million.

Since 2002's "The Scorpion King," The Rock has become a box-office king proving he could win over audiences as a single dad in "Tooth Fairy" or as a heavy-hitting action star in "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island," and the "Fast and Furious" saga. His movies combined have made over $5.2 billion worldwide. 

But before he was rocking the box office, he was just a wrestler, best known for his signature move "The People's Elbow."

Frank Pallotta and Mallory Schlossberg contributed to an earlier version of this story.

Before he was "The Rock," Dwayne Johnson was born May 2, 1972, in Hayward, California.

Source: Biography

Wrestling is in Johnson's blood. His father, Rocky "Soul Man" Johnson, was a member of the first African-American tag-team champions and his grandfather, Peter Maivia, was one of the first Samoan wrestlers.

Source: YouTube

Johnson didn't go straight to wrestling. His first sport was football. After starring in high school he played in college for the Miami Hurricanes. Over his tenure at the school, Johnson started just once but appeared in 39 games and had 77 tackles, and he was a part of the 1991 national championship team.

Source: ESPN

Vin Diesel has vowed that before the “Fast and Furious” franchise rides off into the sunset, there will be a final trilogy, and true to his word, he sent out this Instagram Tuesday night with the release dates to prove it:

Why is this franchise being expanded to 10 films? A big reason is the massive global success of last year's “Furious 7,” which made over $350 million at the domestic box office and over $1 billion in foreign ticket sales. The film was the last featuring the late Paul Walker, who died in a car crash while it was in production.

“Furious 8” (out April 14, 2017) will be directed by F. Gary Gray, who's coming off the success of the N.W.A biopic “Straight Outta Compton.” Diesel will return along with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, and Tyrese Gibson.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The widow of a man driving the Porsche that crashed and killed actor Paul Walker cannot prove the carmaker is responsible for the accident, a federal judge said.

There was not enough evidence in Kristine Rodas' claims that her husband died because the Porsche Carrera GT he was driving lacked several key safety features, U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez ruled Monday.

He said there was no evidence the Porsche's suspension failed before the crash, as Rodas' lawsuit claimed. She also had alleged the rare sports car lacked a crash cage and fuel cell.

"Plaintiff has provided no competent evidence that Rodas' death occurred as a result of any wrongdoing on the part of defendant," Gutierrez wrote.

Walker was riding in the Carrera GT driven by his friend Roger Rodas when the car spun out of control, struck three trees and burst into flames on a street in Santa Clarita in November 2013. Walker was on a break from filming the seventh installment of the "Fast & Furious" franchise when he died.

The ruling has no bearing on two other cases against Porsche filed by Walker's daughter and father, which are both pending in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Meadow Walker's attorney said in a statement that while Rodas was killed instantly in the crash, Walker was still alive when the car caught fire.

"Meadow will continue the fight to hold Porsche accountable for selling a defective product that kills," attorney Jeff Milam wrote.

Porsche has denied wrongdoing in the design, manufacture or marketing of the Carrera GT. The company also contended in the lawsuit by Walker's daughter that the car had been altered and improperly maintained and that those factors contributed to the crash.

An email to Porsche seeking comment was not immediately returned Tuesday.

An investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and California Highway Patrol concluded that unsafe speed, not mechanical problems, caused the crash. Investigators said the Porsche was going up to 94 mph (151 kph) when it crashed.

Engineers from Porsche, who evaluated the wreckage of the rare car, helped in the investigation.

All the cases against Porsche contend the car was going much slower before it spun out of control. The Walkers' suits say the vehicle was traveling between 63 and 71 mph (101 to 114 kph).

Kristine Rodas sued over the crash in May 2014. Her attorney, Mark Geragos, said Tuesday that the ruling will be appealed.

Gutierrez faulted Rodas' expert for initially relying on an analysis of tire marks taken a month and a half after the fatal crash rather than photos investigators took at the scene.

After Walker's death, his two brothers helped complete action scenes in "Furious 7," which earned more than $1.5 billion globally when it was released in April.

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