4) Furious 7
Worldwide Box Office: $1.5 Billion (#3)
It may sound harsh, but like The Dark Knight back in 2008, it’s quite possible that Furious 7 attracted such a large audience because of the tragic death of Paul Walker ahead of its release. Regardless of whether or not that’s the case though, you can’t actually fault the movie for delivering what proved to be a genuinely heartfelt and touching tribute to the actor as the final few tear inducing minutes sent him off in style.
The rest of Furious 7 was obviously what fans have come to expect from the franchise, but regardless of how over the top and ridiculous it became at times (The Rock flexing off a cast with his muscles was in equal parts f**king moronic and utterly brilliant), there’s no denying that it succeeded in being fun. Jason Statham – who will hopefully bring a little more of his Spy character with him next time – also made for a cracking villain.
The thing about this movie is that while it’s unlikely to have changed the minds of those who hate the franchise, it further established Fast and Furious as the go to series for awesome action. With that in mind, it’s easy to see why each one of these performs so well at the box office, and F. Gary Gray is going to have his work cut out for him on part eight if he’s trying to top the madcap vehicular mayhem that this instalment delivered.