Summary

• Fast Five's success saved the franchise, but also set unrealistic expectations for future movies.
• The Hobbs spinoff confirms Fast & Furious' lasting power after nearly two decades.
• Fast Five shifted the series from cars to explosive action, paving the way for continued success.

Fast & Furious' $626 million hit helped save the movie series, but in the process, it also somewhat doomed the franchise. Over two decades after they started, Fast & Furious' main movies are finally concluding, but the franchise remains a Hollywood juggernaut. The confirmation of a Hobbs spinoff proves Fast & Furious is just as strong as ever, with the series poised to continue long after Fast and Furious 11, which is set to be the final mainline movie. Hobbs & Shaw has already proven the universe's spinoff potential, and there will likely be many more projects in the future.

There have also been plenty of rumors about an all-female Fast & Furious spinoff, indicating that the franchise has the sort of formula that will allow it to continue for years. All of this is possible thanks to one installment that proved to be a massive hit. Fast & Furious' first major box office triumph helped rejuvenate the series and highlighted that the universe still had much more to offer. The film made some major alterations to the usual Fast & Furious recipe, and while this helped save the franchise, it also became one of its biggest problems.

Fast Five Was Fast & Furious’ First Major Box Office Hit

Fast Five Was The First Entry In The Franchise To Make Over $500 Million

Fast Five also had the biggest budget of any Fast & Furious movie when it was released, and this paid off by providing the franchise with its best box office performance at the time.

While the previous entries performed well at the box office, Fast Five was the franchise's first major box office hit. Fast Five is often regarded as one of the best movies in the series, which makes its strong financial performance unsurprising. It became the first Fast & Furious movie to make over $500 million, totaling $626 million at the box office from a $125 million budget. Fast Five also had the biggest budget of any Fast & Furious movie when it was released, and this paid off by providing the franchise with its best box office performance at the time.

The action-heavy tone of the film went down well with audiences and, despite its slightly unrealistic nature, the cinematic feel was an all-time high for Fast & Furious. Fast Five's original plan could have killed the franchise, as it would have been less slower-paced and may not have included The Rock, who was a huge part of the movie's success. Choosing to go for a more explosive story made Fast Five a true box office draw, and with the plot still feeling clever and gripping, it proved to be a much bigger financial success than any of its predecessors.

Fast Five was Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's first Fast & Furious appearance.

Fast Five Made It Impossible For The Saga Not To Continue (Despite Its Perfect Ending)

The Box Office Success Proved The Franchise Still Had Plenty Of Life

Despite Fast Five's brilliant ending, the movie proved the saga had to continue. After pulling off their most daring stunt yet, Fast Five ended with all the main characters and their allies rich and living their best lives, making it the perfect conclusion to the franchise. However, the movie's unprecedented success also proved the series had to continue, as the large cast mixed with the action-heavy format indicated how much life Fast & Furious still had. The characters had become truly distinct personalities and the heist format showed how bold Fast & Furious could be while still excelling.

Although there have been strong entries since, no other Fast & Furious movie has managed to replicate Fast Five's overall success. The movie is one of the most popular among critics and audiences while also achieving great box office figures. It earned over $250 million more than the franchise's previous film, Fast and Furious 4, proving how much the series had progressed. Fast X even copied some aspects of Fast Five but couldn't improve upon arguably the franchise's best movie. Finding this level of success while completely reinventing Fast & Furious proved Fast Five was the start of something special.

Since Fast Five, Fast & Furious has had two movies make over $1 billion, proving that the saga had to continue.

Its ending may have been the best place to end the franchise from a story perspective, but there was far too much potential to definitively conclude the series. Since Fast Five, Fast & Furious has had two movies make over $1 billion, proving that the saga had to continue. Fast Five set up the winning formula for the movie series, and although the franchise has struggled to replicate the same critical success, it has undoubtedly thrived financially.

Fast Five Confirmed Fast & Furious Couldn’t Be About Cars Anymore

Fast Five's Explosive Action Became More Popular Than Cars & Racing

Fast & Furious may have originally been about cars, but Fast Five proved the series had to change. Cars have still been a huge part of Fast & Furious' identity over the years, but rather than being about racing and high-speed chases, the franchise has become a more traditional action series. Guns, fist fights, and high-tech weapons became much more prominent after Fast Five since the film highlighted how much bigger the movies could be. While cars still feature in Fast & Furious' best stunts, the action has changed significantly to make each film feel larger than the next.

Changing Fast & Furious' original concept was the only way the franchise could adapt and survive, which Fast Five perfectly achieved. The movie's iconic heist scene still featured cars, as did much of the film's action, yet it also included more traditional gun fights and brawls. This allowed the series to reach new heights and proved that while cars can still be part of Fast & Furious' core identity, the movies don't have to function solely around them. Fast Five managed to expertly find the right balance between car stunts and one-on-one action, which changed the franchise forever.

Fast & Furious Became Too Big For Its Own Good (Because Of Fast Five)

The Stakes Had To Constantly Increase After Fast Five's Action-Packed Plot

Despite all the good that came from Fast Five, the film also meant Fast & Furious became too big for its own good. After changing its box office trajectory and exciting action style, Fast Five also ensured that every sequel had to be bigger, which created its own problems. Naturally, this meant more and more crazy stunts, which involved driving out of cargo planes, racing across frozen lakes, and even piloting a rocket car into space. The weapons also became more advanced, ensuring the series became less realistic and more fun, even at the expense of logic sometimes.

With each movie, the stakes got higher, but so did the budgets. As the series constantly tried to outdo itself, every movie became more expensive than the last. Practical effects and props no doubt cost more as the franchise went on, but the cast also grew bigger, with huge names such as John Cena, Brie Larson, Jason Momoa, and Kurt Russell all joining the cast. The attempt to make every new entry better than the last ultimately became Fast & Furious' undoing, as despite making $714 million, Fast X's $340 budget meant the movie found limited financial success.

Fast Five was undoubtedly a huge part in helping the franchise grow, but it set new expectations that were hard to surpass. While the series has still produced some highlights since then like Furious 7, the Fast & Furious franchise has simply become too big for its own good, causing each movie to become more expensive and slightly less interesting.