Fast & Furious might be in danger despite being one of the highest-grossing franchises in Hollywood. Two years after the release of Fast X, the final movie in the beloved action saga has not been officially announced, and recent reports claim that Universal is not willing to move forward until some budgetary reductions are made.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the next sequel doesn't have an approved script or a release date yet, and most of the main cast have not signed deals to return. Studio executives have reportedly told filmmakers that they won't make another Fast & Furious sequel unless the costs are cut by 20%. The current script requires a budget of $250 million.
This decision seems to be related to the box office results of Fast X in 2023, which became the franchise’s lowest-grossing release in more than a decade. It grossed $705 million against a budget of $340 million.
As WSJ points out, Hollywood’s new economic reality has led studios to be more careful with big-budget productions, as they need to earn about three times the film's costs in order to make a healthy profit, depending on the level of marketing spend. In a moment when even popular franchises like the MCU are failing to return to pre-pandemic box office numbers, the risks of approving an exorbitant budget are higher than ever.
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