Following the early success of Fast 9's theatrical release, Ludacris posted on Instagram in celebration of the film reaching the $500 million milestone in sales worldwide. The film has been out for less than two weeks, but reached the achievement on a fast timeline because of it being one of the first few blockbuster films to welcome audiences back into theaters, after vaccination rates have begun to curb the deadly COVID-19 pandemic that shut down many industries last year.
Ludacris has been with the Fast franchise since 2003's 2 Fast 2 Furious, and has seen the street racing series transition into the action blockbuster realm with cars prominently featured. He joined the film franchise at the height of his musical career as a rapper and took on more acting work as the series evolved throughout the years, so seeing the latest installment of the franchise continue to be a financial success must be a great feeling for the multi-talented artist.
“Half a BILLION in only 11 Days,” he said in the post's caption. “WOW! Sincerely Thank You To Every Fan Around The World That Bought A Ticket & Supported This Movie.”
Fellow musician-turned-actor Tyrese, and pseudo-partner to Ludacris' Tej character in the Fast films, occupies one of the top comments on his post, stating "Pow!!!!!!!!!!!!! We love you guys WORLDWIDE." The Fast franchise has come a long way from its humble street racing days, and Tyrese has been around equally as long as Ludacris to see the franchise grow.
In the United States, box office sales have contributed about $125 million to the film's overall half a billion in sales, indicating a strong audience presence in theaters as they have begun to fully reopen across the country. Fast 9 marks one of the first blockbuster films to make a return to movie theaters, along with A Quiet Place: Part II and Marvel's upcoming effort Black Widow starring Scarlett Johansson.
Have you seen Fast 9 yet? Are you comfortable with going to the movies again? Let us know in the comments.