The film has already broken the global box office record held by Disney’s "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which brought in $529 million globally in 2015. (Yet, to be fair to the galaxy far, far away, "Force Awakens" didn’t open in the world’s second largest market, China, until a month after it was released.)

　　So far the film, which opened last Thursday night in North America, has brought in $45.6 million on opening day in the United States. The early totals have pushed the 16-year-old series above the $4 billion mark overall.

　　It’s no shock that the film is a hit with international audiences. For the first seven films in the franchise, 67% of ticket sales came from abroad, especially China. In that market, it took 2015’s "Furious 7" only eight days to gross $250 million.

　　The latest film, which stars Vin Diesel and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, is already breaking records in China. "Fate" has nabbed the country’s record for biggest single day ever and the biggest three-day opening of all time in China.

　　"Once again, the ’Furious’ franchise has come off the line faster than ever before," said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com.