In April 2015, Which Films Will "Fast & Furious 7" Have To Beat To Rule The Box Office?

Yesterday the release date for Fast & Furious 7 was announced for April 2015. As predicted, this allows for some production delays and for the cast and crew to have a mental health break following Paul Walker’s death.

It also means that the film will be pitched against a different set of competitors, which might affect the franchise’s profits. In July 2014, the main competitor to our favorite fast-cars-no-plot franchise would have been Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Vin Diesel broke the news via Facebook yesterday.

April 2015 looks like an entirely different setting. So far, three other films have been announced for April releases – Insidious Chapter 3, the sci-fi flick Passengers and the Guilermo del Toro horror Crimson Peak. With the exception of Insidious, the second installment of which did respectably with $40 million on its first week this past September (according to Box Office Mojo), but failed to stick around the box office charts, it looks like F&F will face some tough competition.

Judging by the previous work of everyone involved with Passengers – director Brian Kirk and stars Keanu Reeves and Rachel McAdams, it doesn’t sound like The Weinstein Company is grooming the project for blockbuster status either. With Fast & Furious 6 grossing $96 million domestically this year, the seventh installment will be tough to beat.

Can the Keanu starrer shift some box office stats?

As for Crimson Peak, the haunted house flick might pose some competition for Fast & Furious. While horror films traditionally don’t do as well as straight up action, the runaway success of Pacific Rim in 2013 means that del Toro has proven himself as a highly profitable director. Add to that a cast of in-demand stars, including Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain and this film, the exact date for which is still TBA, might steal some of Fast’s thunder.

Del Toro is in high demand after the success of Pacific Rim.

Lastly, whatever Fast & Furious ends up grossing in April, it’s a pretty safe bet that the profits won’t trickle on down into May. With Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron coming on the 1st, we already know what everyone will be talking about for the rest of the month.

It's a pretty safe bet that The Avengers: Age of Ultron will settle at the top of box office charts for a while.